¹ Take up now a song of grief for the ruler of Israel, and say,

² What was your mother? Like a she-lion among lions, stretched out among the young lions she gave food to her little ones.

³ And one of her little ones came to growth under her care, and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.

⁴ And the nations had news of him; he was taken in the hole they had made: and, pulling him with hooks, they took him into the land of Egypt.

⁵ Now when she saw that her hope was made foolish and gone, she took another of her little ones and made him into a young lion.

⁶ And he went up and down among the lions and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.

⁷ And he sent destruction on their widows and made waste their towns; and the land and everything in it became waste because of the loud sound of his voice.

⁸ Then the nations came against him from the kingdoms round about: their net was stretched over him and he was taken in the hole they had made.

⁹ They made him a prisoner with hooks, and took him to the king of Babylon; they put him in the strong place so that his voice might be sounding no longer on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰ Your mother was in comparison like a vine, planted by the waters: she was fertile and full of branches because of the great waters.

¹¹ And she had a strong rod for a rod of authority for the rulers, and it became tall among the clouds and it was seen lifted up among the number of its branches.

¹² But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it.

¹³ And now she is planted in the waste land, in a dry and unwatered country.

¹⁴ And fire has gone out from her rod, causing the destruction of her branches, so that there is no strong rod in her to be the ruler's rod of authority. This is a song of grief, and it was for a song of grief.

¹ Yahweh said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs in the midst of them,

² and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son's son, what things I have done to Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am Yahweh."

³ Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, "This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

⁴ Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,

⁵ and they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that one won't be able to see the earth. They shall eat the residue of that which has escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field.

⁶ Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.'" He turned, and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷ Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh, their God. Don't you yet know that Egypt is destroyed?"

⁸ Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve Yahweh your God; but who are those who will Go?"

⁹ Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast to Yahweh."

¹⁰ He said to them, "Yahweh be with you if I will let you go with your little ones! See, evil is clearly before your faces.

¹¹ Not so! Go now you who are men, and serve Yahweh; for that is what you desire!" They were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

¹² Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left."

¹³ Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all the night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

¹⁴ The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

¹⁵ For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained nothing green, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God, and against you.

¹⁷ Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to Yahweh your God, that he may also take away from me this death."

¹⁸ He went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh.

¹⁹ Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.

²⁰ But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he didn't let the children of Israel go.

²¹ Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt."

²² Moses stretched forth his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

²³ They didn't see one another, neither did anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

²⁴ Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, "Go, serve Yahweh. Only let your flocks and your herds stay behind. Let your little ones also Go with you."

²⁵ Moses said, "You must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.

²⁶ Our livestock also shall go with us. Not a hoof shall be left behind, for of it we must take to serve Yahweh our God; and we don't know with what we must serve Yahweh, until we come there."

²⁷ But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he wouldn't let them go.

²⁸ Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me! Be careful to see my face no more; for in the day you see my face you shall die!"

²⁹ Moses said, "You have spoken well. I will see your face again no more."