And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.
- BSB So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days.
- NKJV So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
- NASB So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.
- NLT So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days.
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
Moses obeys and thick darkness covers Egypt for three days. God's word brings an oppressive, prolonged darkness.
Overview
The three days of total darkness display God's mastery over light and the heavens. The plague humiliates Egypt's sun worship at its very heart. Such enveloping darkness pictures the judgment and gloom that fall apart from God's presence. It deepens the dread building toward the climactic plague.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 105:28He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
- Rev 16:10And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
- Deut 5:22These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
- Amos 4:13For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.
- Exod 20:21And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
- Joel 2:31The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
- Joel 2:2A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
- Deut 4:11And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 10:22 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.