Exodus 11

The LORD said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you leave here. In fact, when he lets you go, he will drive you out of this place completely.

1And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

Note"Plague" here translates a Hebrew word meaning a blow or stroke, a blow struck against Egypt, not necessarily a disease. This is the last of a series of ten; the previous nine are described in chapters 7 to 10.

2Now tell the people this: every man and every woman should ask a neighbor for objects made of silver and gold."

2Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

NoteThe King James "borrow" is misleading: the Hebrew verb simply means to ask or request, with no suggestion that the items would be given back. The neighbors meant are Egyptian neighbors, Israelites and Egyptians lived among one another. "Jewels" in 1611 English meant valuable objects of any kind, vessels, ornaments, utensils, not specifically gemstones.

3The LORD made the Egyptians think well of the people of Israel. Moses himself was held in very high regard in Egypt, both by Pharaoh's officials and by the ordinary people.

3And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.

Note"Favour in the sight of" is a Hebrew idiom meaning that one party looked kindly on another and was disposed to grant what they asked. When the King James calls Moses "very great," it means important and highly regarded in rank and reputation, not morally great.

4So Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: 'About midnight I will go out through the middle of Egypt.

4And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:

5Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die. That includes the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, and the firstborn of the servant girl who works at the hand mill. Every firstborn animal will die too.

5And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

NoteThe firstborn son held a distinct legal standing in the ancient world: he was heir to a double share of the inheritance and became head of the household on his father's death, so he represented the family's future. Grinding grain at a hand mill was the most menial work in a household, done by female slaves. Naming the king's heir and the slave girl's child together is a way of saying "every rank of society, top to bottom."

6There will be loud crying all over Egypt. There has never been crying like it before, and there never will be again.

6And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

NoteThe Hebrew word is a cry of grief, the loud, public wailing that accompanied a death in the ancient Near East, not weeping in private.

7But among the people of Israel, not even a dog will growl at a person or an animal.' This is so you will know that the LORD makes a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

7But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

Note"Not a dog will move his tongue" is a proverbial expression for total silence and stillness. Dogs in ancient Egypt and Israel were mostly half-wild scavengers around settlements, not household pets, and barking at strangers or at animals was what they were noticed for.

8All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow low before me. They will say, 'Get out, you and all the people who follow you!' After that, I will leave." Then Moses walked out of Pharaoh's presence, burning with anger.

8And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.

NoteBowing low to the ground was the standard gesture of submission before a superior; Pharaoh's officials performing it before Moses reverses the normal order of rank between them. "Come down" reflects the fact that a royal court sat on raised ground, so anyone leaving it went down.

9The LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you. This is so that I may do many more wonders in the land of Egypt."

9And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

10Moses and Aaron did all these wonders in front of Pharaoh. But the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn, so he would not let the people of Israel leave his land.

10And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.