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The Tenth Plague—the Death of the Firstborn
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. After that he will let you go. When he does, he will be certain to force all of you out of here. 2 Now announce to the people ⌞of Israel⌟ that each man and woman must ask the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry.”
3 The Lord made the Egyptians kind to the people. And Moses was highly respected by Pharaoh’s officials and all the Egyptians.
4 Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go out among the Egyptians. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who rules the land, to the firstborn children of female slaves who use their handmills, including every firstborn domestic animal. 6 There will be loud crying throughout Egypt, such as there has never been or ever will be again. 7 But where the Israelites are, not even a dog will be startled by any person or animal. This is how you will see that the Lord shows the distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 Then all these officials of yours will come, bow down to me, and say, ‘You and all the people who follow you, get out!’ After that I will leave.” Burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh.
9 The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you. This is why I will do more amazing things in Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron showed Pharaoh all these amazing things. Yet, the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he wouldn’t let the Israelites leave his country.