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.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
- BSB Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness.”
- NKJV Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”
- NASB Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.”
- NLT Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God commands Moses to bring a darkness that can be felt over Egypt. The ninth plague strikes at the sun itself.
Overview
The 'darkness which may be felt' conveys a thick, oppressive supernatural gloom. This plague directly confronts Egypt's prominent sun-deity, exposing its impotence. Darkness in Scripture often signals judgment and the absence of God's favor. The plague sets the stage for the final, decisive judgment to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Rev 16:10–11The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain,
- 2 Pet 2:4For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
- Luke 23:44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
- Jude 1:6Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
- 2 Pet 2:17These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
- Isa 8:21–22They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,
- Exod 9:22Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on animal, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”
- Deut 28:29You will grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. You will only be oppressed and robbed always, and there will be no one to save you.
- Prov 4:19The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don’t know what they stumble over.
- Ps 105:28He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his words.
- Matt 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Mark 15:33When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
- Eccl 2:14The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness — and yet I perceived that one event happens to them all.
- Jude 1:13wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
- Eccl 6:4for it comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.
- Ps 78:49He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band of angels of evil.
- Ps 35:6Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh’s angel pursuing them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 10:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.