ExodusChapter 9

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¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh. Tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'Let my people go, so they can worship me. ²But if you keep holding them back and refuse to let them go, ³then the hand of the LORD will bring a terrible sickness on your animals in the field. It will strike your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. ⁴But the LORD will make a difference between the animals of Israel and the animals of Egypt. Not one animal that belongs to the Israelites will die.'" ⁵The LORD set a time. He said, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land." ⁶And the next day the LORD did just that. All the animals of the Egyptians died. But not one animal that belonged to the Israelites died. ⁷Pharaoh sent officials to check. They found that not one of the Israelites' animals had died. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not let the people go. ⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from the furnace. Moses must toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches. ⁹It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt. Then painful sores full of pus will break out on people and animals all over the land." ¹⁰So they took soot from the furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air. Then painful sores full of pus broke out on people and animals. ¹¹The magicians could not stand in front of Moses because of the sores. The sores had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians. ¹²But the LORD made Pharaoh's heart hard. He would not listen to them, just as the LORD had told Moses. ¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand in front of Pharaoh. Tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'Let my people go, so they can worship me. ¹⁴If you don't, I will send all my plagues against you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. ¹⁵For by now I could have reached out my hand and struck you and your people with a deadly sickness. I could have wiped you off the earth. ¹⁶But I have raised you up for this very reason. I did it to show you my power. I did it so my name would be told about in all the earth. ¹⁷Still, you act like a proud ruler over my people. You will not let them go. ¹⁸Listen! About this time tomorrow I will send down the worst hail that has ever fallen on Egypt. Nothing like it has fallen from the day Egypt began until now. ¹⁹So give orders right now to bring your animals and everything you have in the field to a safe place. The hail will come down on every person and animal left out in the field. Anything not brought inside will die.'" ²⁰Some of Pharaoh's officials feared the word of the LORD. They hurried to bring their servants and animals inside to safety. ²¹But others paid no attention to the word of the LORD. They left their servants and animals out in the field. ²²Then the LORD said to Moses, "Hold out your hand toward the sky. Then hail will fall on all the land of Egypt. It will fall on people and animals and every plant in the fields all over the land of Egypt." ²³So Moses held out his staff toward the sky. The LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the ground. So the LORD rained down hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴The hail fell, and lightning kept flashing through it. The hail was very heavy. Nothing like it had ever been seen in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵All over the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the fields, both people and animals. It beat down every plant in the fields. It stripped every tree bare. ²⁶The only place where it did not hail was the land of Goshen. That is where the Israelites lived. ²⁷Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said. "The LORD is righteous. My people and I are wicked. ²⁸Pray to the LORD. We have had enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go. You don't have to stay here any longer." ²⁹Moses said to him, "When I have left the city, I will lift up my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop, and there will be no more hail. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the LORD. ³⁰But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD our God." ³¹(The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe and the flax was in bloom. ³²But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, because they grow later.) ³³Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He lifted up his hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. ³⁴Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped. Then he sinned again. He and his officials made their hearts hard. ³⁵So Pharaoh's heart was hardened. He would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.