15 because of the horrible and unexpected nightmares brought on by the surrender of their souls to the forces of evil.
16-17 Every one of the Egyptians—including farmers and shepherds—fell prisoner to the fear of a darkness that was more difficult to escape than iron chains.
18-19 The slightest noise made them paralyzed with fear—the songs of birds in the trees, the rhythm of rushing water, the surprising crash of a rock, the hoofbeats of animals jumping about, the roar of lions, or even an echo in the mountains.
20 Everywhere else in the world, everyone went about their own business in broad daylight,
21 while these Egyptians were covered with a heavy blanket of darkness like the darkness of death that would soon capture them. But the trouble they brought upon themselves was an even heavier burden than the darkness.