EXODUS 9

A Plague against Livestock

Verse 1:
“Go back to Pharaoh,” the Lord commanded Moses. “Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

Verse 2:
If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go,

Verse 3:
the hand of the Lord will strike all your livestock—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a deadly plague.

Verse 4:
But the Lord will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die!

Verse 5:
The Lord has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.’”

Verse 6:
And the Lord did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal.

Verse 7:
Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he still refused to let the people go.

A Plague of Festering Boils

Verse 8:
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches.

Verse 9:
The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

Verse 10:
So they took soot from a brick kiln and went and stood before Pharaoh. As Pharaoh watched, Moses threw the soot into the air, and boils broke out on people and animals alike.

Verse 11:
Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.

Verse 12:
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and just as the Lord had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen.

A Plague of Hail

Verse 13:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

Verse 14:
If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

Verse 15:
By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth.

Verse 16:
But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.

Verse 17:
But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go. 18So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. 19Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’”

Verse 20:
Some of Pharaoh’s officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields.

Verse 21:
But those who paid no attention to the word of the Lord left theirs out in the open.

Verse 22:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky so hail may fall on the people, the livestock, and all the plants throughout the land of Egypt.”

Verse 23:
So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The Lord sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt.

Verse 24:
Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning.

Verse 25:
It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed.

Verse 26:
The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.

Verse 27:
Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he confessed. “The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong.

Verse 28:
Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We’ve had enough. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”

Verse 29:
“All right,” Moses replied. “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord.

Verse 30:
But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”

Verse 31:
(All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding.

Verse 32:
But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)

Verse 33:
So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and went out of the city. When he lifted his hands to the Lord, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased.

Verse 34:
But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.

Verse 35:
Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.




Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.