The poem summarizes the 10 plagues that God brought upon Egypt in an effort to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery. It describes each plague in a few rhyming lines, including turning the Nile river to blood, filling the land with frogs, gnats, flies, disease killing livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn. However, Pharaoh's heart remained hardened and he refused to release the Israelites until the final plague.