Exodus 9

Modern English Version

The Fifth Plague: Livestock Die

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. ² For if you refuse to let them go and continue holding them, ³ indeed, the hand of the Lord will be upon your livestock which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep. There shall be a very grievous pestilence. ⁴ The Lord shall separate between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.’ ”

⁵ So the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land.” ⁶ Then the Lord did this thing the next day, so that all the livestock of Egypt died, but not one of the livestock of the children of Israel died. ⁷ Pharaoh sent, and there was not one of the livestock of the children of Israel dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, so that he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a kiln, and let Moses toss it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹ It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and shall be a boil breaking forth with blisters upon man and beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰ So they took the ashes from a kiln and stood before Pharaoh. Then Moses tossed it up toward the heavens, and it became a boil breaking forth with blisters upon man and beast. ¹¹ The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. ¹² Moreover, the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, so that he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

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, so that they may serve Me. ¹⁴ For I will at this time send all My plagues upon you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵ For by now I could have stretched out My hand, so that I might strike you and your people with pestilence, and you would be cut off from the earth. ¹⁶ But, indeed, for this cause I have raised you up, in order to show in you My power and so that My name may be declared throughout all the earth. ¹⁷ Still, you exalt yourself against My people by forbidding them to go. ¹⁸ Certainly, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very severe hail, such as has not happened in Egypt since it was founded until now. ¹⁹ Send therefore now and bring your livestock and all that you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast which shall be found in the field and not brought home when the hail comes down upon them will die.’ ”

²⁰ He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses. ²¹ But he that failed to regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²² So the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch forth your hand toward the heavens, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man and beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ Moses stretched forth his rod toward the heavens, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran along upon the ground. So the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. ²⁴ So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail. It was so severe that there had been none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ The hail struck all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast, and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. ²⁶ Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. ²⁸ Entreat the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s mighty thunder and hail, and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

²⁹ Moses said to him, “As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord. The thunder shall cease, and there shall no longer be any more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. ³⁰ But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹ Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they grow up later.

³³ So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was no longer poured upon the earth. ³⁴ However, when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. ³⁵ The heart of Pharaoh hardened, and he would not let the children of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken by Moses.