in the twilight, the evening, ¹  in the dark of the night. ² 

The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ¹  to you in a dense cloud, ²  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ³  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

On ¹  the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense ²  cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud ³  horn; ⁴  all the people who were in the camp trembled.

He shrouded himself in darkness, ¹  in thick rain clouds. ² 

The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy.

The priests were unable to enter the Lord’s temple because the Lord’s splendor filled the Lord’s temple.

The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory ¹  of Egypt. It was very severe; ²  there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. ³ 

Look, the name ¹  of the Lord comes from a distant place in raging anger and awesome splendor. ²  He speaks angrily and his word is like destructive fire. ³ 

He looked out toward ¹  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ²  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ³ 

So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness ¹  throughout the land of Egypt for three days. ² 

He shrouded himself in darkness, ¹  in thick rain clouds. ² 

For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers ¹  the nations, but the Lord shines on you; his splendor ²  appears over you.

The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count. ² 

Its boughs were strong, fit ¹  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds. It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ² 

Therefore, because of you, ¹  Zion will be plowed up like ²  a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the Temple Mount ³  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ⁴ 

But if your eye is diseased, ¹  your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

The Lord did so; a ¹  thick ²  swarm of flies came into ³  Pharaoh’s house and into the houses ⁴  of his servants, and throughout the whole land of Egypt the land was ruined ⁵  because of the swarms of flies.

Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees have been destroyed. Howl, oaks of Bashan, because the impenetrable forest has fallen.

Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. ¹  Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. ²  Do it before you stumble ³  into distress like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. ⁴  Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for into the darkness and gloom of exile. ⁵ 

“Micah from Moresheth ¹  prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. ²  He told all the people of Judah, ‘The Lord who rules over all ³  says, “Zion ⁴  will become a plowed field. Jerusalem ⁵  will become a pile of rubble. The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’ ⁶