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.
Exodus 9
English Standard Version
The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die
1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. (Ex 7:16; Ex 8:1)2For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,3behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. (Ex 7:4)4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” (Ex 8:22; Ex 11:7)5And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”6And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. (Ex 9:19)7And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. (Ex 7:14)
The Sixth Plague: Boils
8And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.9It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Le 13:18; De 28:27; 2Ki 20:7; Job 2:7; Isa 38:21; Re 16:2)10So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. (Ex 7:11; 2Ti 3:9)12But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. (Ex 4:21)
The Seventh Plague: Hail
13Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. (Ex 7:15; Ex 8:20)14For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself,[1] and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. (Ex 8:10)15For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.16But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Ex 10:1; Ex 11:9; Ex 14:17; Ps 83:18; Pr 16:4; Isa 63:12; Ro 9:17)17You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. (Ne 9:10)18Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.19Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” (Ex 9:4)20Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses,21but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” (Re 16:21)23Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. (Jos 10:11; 1Sa 12:17; Ps 18:13; Ps 78:47; Ps 105:32; Ps 148:8; Isa 30:30; Eze 38:22; Re 8:7)24There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.25The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. (Ps 78:47; Ps 105:33)26Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail. (Ex 8:22; Ex 9:4; Ex 9:6; Ex 10:23; Ex 11:7; Ex 12:13; Isa 32:18)27Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. (Ex 10:16; 2Ch 12:6; Ps 129:4; Ps 145:17; La 1:18; Da 9:14)28Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” (Ex 8:8)29Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. (De 10:14; 1Ki 8:22; 1Ki 8:38; Ps 24:1; Ps 143:6; Isa 1:15; 1Co 10:26)30But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” (Isa 26:10)31(The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.32But the wheat and the emmer[2] were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.)33So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. (Ex 9:29)34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. (Ex 7:14; 1Sa 6:6)35So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. (Ex 4:21)