1Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.2For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,3Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.4And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children' of Israel.5And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.6And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.7And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.8And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.9And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.10And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.12And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.13And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.14For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.15For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.16And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.17As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?18Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.19Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.20He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:21And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.22And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.24So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.25And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were , was there no hail.27And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.28Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.29And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'.30But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.31And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.32But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.33And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.34And 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.35And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.
Exodus 9
New International Reader’s Version
The plague on livestock
1Then the LORD spoke to Moses. He said, ‘Go to Pharaoh. Tell him, “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me.2Do not refuse to let them go. Do not keep holding them back.3If you refuse, my powerful hand will bring a terrible plague on you. I will strike your livestock in the fields. I will strike your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats.4But I will treat Israel’s livestock differently from yours. No animal that belongs to the people of Israel will die.’ ” ’5The LORD set a time for the plague. He said, ‘Tomorrow I will send it on the land.’6So the next day the LORD sent it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died. But not one animal that belonged to the Israelites died.7Pharaoh searched and found out what had happened. He discovered that not even one animal that belonged to the Israelites had died. But he was still very stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people go.
The plague of boils
8Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, ‘Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace. Let Moses toss them into the air in front of Pharaoh.9The ashes will turn into fine dust over the whole land of Egypt. Then painful boils will break out on people and animals all over the land. Their bodies will be covered with them.’10So Moses and Aaron took ashes from a furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses tossed them into the air. Then boils broke out on people and animals alike.11The bodies of all the Egyptians were covered with boils. The magicians couldn’t stand in front of Moses because of the boils that were all over them.12But the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn. Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.
The plague of hail
13Then the LORD spoke to Moses. He said, ‘Get up early in the morning. Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me.14If you do not let them go, I will send the full force of my plagues against you this time. They will strike your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in the whole earth.15By now I could have reached out my hand. I could have struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.16But I had a special reason for making you king. I decided to show you my power. I wanted my name to become known everywhere on earth.17But you are still against my people. You will not let them go.18So at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm ever to fall on Egypt in its entire history.19Give an order now to bring your livestock inside to a safe place. Bring in everything that is outside. The hail will fall on all the people and animals that are left outside. They will die.’ ” ’20The officials of Pharaoh who had respect for what the LORD had said obeyed him. They hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.21But others didn’t pay attention to what the LORD had said. They left their slaves and livestock outside.22Then the LORD spoke to Moses. He said, ‘Reach out your hand towards the sky. Then hail will fall all over Egypt. It will beat down on people and animals alike. It will strike everything growing in the fields of Egypt.’23Moses reached out his walking stick towards the sky. Then the LORD sent thunder and hail. Lightning flashed down to the ground. The LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.24Hail fell and lightning flashed to and fro. It was the worst storm in Egypt’s entire history.25Hail struck everything in the fields all over Egypt. It fell on people and animals alike. It beat down everything growing in the fields. It tore all the leaves off the trees.26The only place it didn’t hail was in the area of Goshen. That’s where the people of Israel were.27Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. ‘This time I’ve sinned,’ he said to them. ‘The LORD has done what is right. I and my people have done what is wrong.28Pray to the LORD, because we’ve had enough thunder and hail. I’ll let you and your people go. You don’t have to stay here any longer.’29Moses replied, ‘When I’ve left the city, I’ll lift up my hands and pray to the LORD. The thunder will stop. There won’t be any more hail. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the LORD.30But I know that you and your officials still don’t have any respect for the LORD God.’31The barley was ripe. The flax was in bloom. So they were both destroyed.32But the wheat and spelt weren’t destroyed. That’s because they ripen later.33Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. Moses lifted up his hands and prayed to the LORD. The thunder and hail stopped. The rain didn’t pour down on the land any longer.34Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had stopped. So he sinned again. He and his officials became stubborn.35So Pharaoh was stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.