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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.

If you refuse to let them go and still hold them,

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.

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.

And the Lord set a time, saying, Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.

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.

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.

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.

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)

The Plague on Livestock

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship(A) me.” If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, the hand(B) of the Lord will bring a terrible plague(C) on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt,(D) so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”

The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock(E) of the Egyptians died,(F) but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart(G) was unyielding and he would not let the people go.(H)

The Plague of Boils

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils(I) will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians(J) could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart(K) and he would not listen(L) to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

The Plague of Hail

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(M) me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know(N) that there is no one like(O) me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people(P) with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up[a] for this very purpose,(Q) that I might show you my power(R) and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm(S) that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.(T) 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”

20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared(U) the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored(V) the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder(W) and hail,(X) and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.(Y) 25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.(Z) 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen,(AA) where the Israelites were.(AB)

27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,”(AC) he said to them. “The Lord is in the right,(AD) and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray(AE) to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go;(AF) you don’t have to stay any longer.”

29 Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands(AG) in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth(AH) is the Lord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear(AI) the Lord God.”

31 (The flax and barley(AJ) were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32 The wheat and spelt,(AK) however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

33 Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart(AL) was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 9:16 Or have spared you