18. Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord.
19. And the Lord changed the east wind into a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and blew them into the Gulf of Suez. Not one locust was left in all Egypt.
20. But the Lord made the king stubborn, and he did not let the Israelites go.
21. The Lord then said to Moses, “Raise your hand towards the sky, and a darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt.”
22. Moses raised his hand towards the sky, and there was total darkness throughout Egypt for three days.
23. The Egyptians could not see each other, and no one left his house during that time. But the Israelites had light where they were living.
24. The king called Moses and said, “You may go and worship the Lord; even your women and children may go with you. But your sheep, goats, and cattle must stay here.”
25. Moses answered, “Then you would have to provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to offer to the Lord our God.
26. No, we will take our animals with us; not one will be left behind. We ourselves must select the animals with which to worship the Lord our God. And until we get there, we will not know what animals to sacrifice to him.”
27. The Lord made the king stubborn, and he would not let them go.
28. He said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Don't let me ever see you again! On the day I do, you will die!”
29. “You are right,” Moses answered. “You will never see me again.”