Pharaoh now offered the Israelites permission to sacrifice in Egypt, but they refused to accept such conditions. "It is not meet," said Moses; "lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?" The animals which the Hebrews would be required to sacrifice were among those regarded as sacred by the Egyptians; and such was the reverence in which these creatures were held, that to slay one, even accidentally, was a crime punishable with death. It would be impossible for the Hebrews to worship in Egypt without giving offense to their masters. Moses again proposed to go three days' journey into the wilderness. The monarch consented, and begged the servants of God to entreat that the plague might be removed. They promised to do this, but warned him against 267 dealing deceitfully with them. The plague was stayed, but the king's heart had become hardened by persistent rebellion, and he still refused to yield.

Farao tilbød nu at lade israelitterne ofre i Ægypten, men det nægtede de at gå ind på. Moses sagde: "Det går ikke an at gøre således, ..... når vi for øjnene af ægypterne ofrer, hvad der er dem en vederstyggelighed, mon de da ikke stener os?" De dyr, som hebræerne skulle ofre, regnedes for hellige af ægypterne, og deres ærbødighed for disse dyr var så stor, at det blev anset for en forbrydelse, der krævede dødsstraf, at dræbe et sådant dyr, også hvis det skete af vanvare. Det ville være umuligt for hebræerne at ofre i Ægypten uden at vække anstød hos deres herrer. Moses bad igen om tilladelse til at drage tre dagsrejser ud i ørkenen. Kongen indvilligede og bad Guds tjenere bede om, at plagen måtte blive borttaget. Det lovede de at gøre, men advarede ham mod at narre dem. Plagen blev standset, men kongens hjerte var blevet forhærdet af hans stadige oprør, og han nægtede fortsat at give efter.