9 Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and tell him, Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
2 If you refuse to let them go and still hold them,
3 Behold, the hand of the Lord [will fall] upon your livestock which are out in the field, upon the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds and the flocks; there shall be a very severe plague.
4 But the Lord shall make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.
5 And the Lord set a time, saying, Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.
6 And the Lord did that the next day, and all [kinds of] the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died.
7 Pharaoh sent to find out, and behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened [his mind was set] and he did not let the people go.
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Take handfuls of ashes or soot from the brickkiln and let Moses sprinkle them toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh.
9 And it shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast in all the land [occupied by the Egyptians].
10 So they took ashes or soot of the kiln and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw them toward the sky, and it became boils erupting in sores on man and beast.
11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of their boils; for the boils were on the magicians and all the Egyptians.
12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, making it strong and obstinate, and he did not listen to them or heed them, just as the Lord had told Moses.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
14 For this time I will send all My plagues upon your heart and upon your servants and your people, that you may recognize and know that there is none like Me in all the earth.
15 For by now I could have put forth My hand and have struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.
16 But for this very purpose have I let you live, that I might show you My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth.(A)
17 Since you are still exalting yourself [in haughty defiance] against My people by not letting them go,
18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very heavy and dreadful fall of hail, such as has not been in Egypt from its founding until now.
19 Send therefore now and gather your cattle in hastily, and all that you have in the field; for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home shall be struck by the hail and shall die.
20 Then he who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses and shelters.
21 And he who ignored the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 The Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth your hand toward the heavens, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man and beast, and upon all the vegetation of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
23 Then Moses stretched forth his rod toward the heavens, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire (lightning) ran down to and along the ground, and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24 So there was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the weighty hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25 The hail struck down throughout all the land of Egypt everything that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail beat down all the vegetation of the field and shattered every tree of the field.
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail.
27 And Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time; the Lord is in the right and I and my people are in the wrong.
28 Entreat the Lord, for there has been enough of these mighty thunderings and hail [these voices of God]; I will let you go; you shall stay here no longer.
29 Moses said to him, As soon as I leave the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.
30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet [reverently] fear the Lord God.
31 The flax and the barley were smitten and ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax in bloom.
32 But the wheat and spelt [another wheat] were not smitten, for they ripen late and were not grown up yet.
33 So Moses left the city and Pharaoh, and stretched forth his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and hail ceased, and rain was no longer poured upon the earth.
34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more, and toughened and stiffened his hard heart, he and his servants.
35 So Pharaoh’s heart was strong and obstinate; he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said by Moses.(B)
Cross references
- Exodus 9:16 : Rom. 9:17-24.
- Exodus 9:35 : Exod. 4:21.
