Exodus 9
1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, that they may serve me.
The Lord told Moses, “Go and speak to Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they can worship me.
2 For if thou refuse to let them go, and shalt retain them still,
If you refuse to let them go and keep holding onto them,
3 behold, the hand of Jehovah shall be on thy cattle which is in the field, on the horses, on the asses, on the camels, on the oxen and on the sheep, with a very grievous plague.
I will punish you by bringing a very severe plague on your livestock—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
4 And Jehovah will distinguish between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall nothing die of all that the children of Israel have.
But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of the Israelites and the Egyptians, so that none of those belonging to the Israelites will die.’
5 And Jehovah appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow will Jehovah do this thing in the land.
The Lord has set a time, saying, ‘Tomorrow this is what is going to happen here in the country.’”
6 And Jehovah did this thing on the following day, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
The following day the Lord did what he had said. All the Egyptians' livestock died, but not a single animal belonging to the Israelites died.
7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
Pharaoh sent out officials and discovered that not a single one of the Israelites' livestock had died. But Pharaoh was stubborn, and he would not let the people leave.
8 And Jehovah said to Moses and to Aaron, Take to yourselves handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh.
The Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Go and get some handfuls of soot from a furnace. Then have Moses throw it into the air in front of Pharaoh.
9 And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall become boils on man and on cattle, breaking out [with] blisters, throughout the land of Egypt.
It will spread like fine dust over the whole country of Egypt, and open sores will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”
10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens; and it became boils [with] blisters breaking out on man and on cattle.
They got soot from a furnace, and went to see Pharaoh. Moses threw it into the air, and open sores broke out on people and animals.
11 And the scribes could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians.
The magicians were unable to come and appear before Moses, because they and all the other Egyptians were covered in sores.
12 And Jehovah made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he did not hearken to them, as Jehovah had told Moses.
But the Lord gave Pharaoh a stubborn attitude, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had told Moses.
13 And Jehovah said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and set thyself before Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, that they may serve me.
The Lord told Moses, “Tomorrow morning get up early and go to Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they can worship me.
14 For I will at this time send all my plagues to thy heart, and on thy bondmen, and on thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
This time I will direct all my plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you will realize that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15 For now shall I put forth my hand, and I will smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
By now I could have reached out to strike you and your people with a plague that would have completely destroyed you.
16 And for this very cause have I raised thee up, to shew thee my power; and that my name may be declared in all the earth.
However, I have let you live so you can see my power, and that my reputation may be spread throughout the earth.
17 Dost thou still exalt thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
But in your pride you are still tyrannizing my people, and refuse to let them leave.
18 Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since its foundation until now.
So watch out! About this time tomorrow I will send down the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the beginning of its history until now.
19 And now send, [and] secure thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field: all the men and the cattle that are found in the field, and are not brought home — on them the hail shall come down, and they shall die.
So order your livestock and everything you have in the field to be brought inside. Every person and every animal that stays outside and is not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.’”
20 He that feared the word of Jehovah among the bondmen of Pharaoh made his bondmen and his cattle flee into the houses.
Those of Pharaoh's officials who took seriously what the Lord said rushed to bring their servants and livestock inside.
21 But he that did not regard the word of Jehovah left his bondmen and his cattle in the field.
But those who didn't care what the Lord said left their servants and livestock outside.
22 And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward the heavens, that there may be hail throughout the land of Egypt, upon men, and upon cattle, and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt.
The Lord told Moses, “Lift your hand towards the sky so that a hailstorm will fall over the whole of Egypt, on people and on animals, and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.”
23 And Moses stretched out his staff toward the heavens, and Jehovah gave thunder and hail; and the fire ran along the ground; and Jehovah rained hail on the land of Egypt.
Moses held up his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and made lightning hit the ground. This is how the Lord rained hail down on Egypt.
24 And there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there had been none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
As the hail fell it was accompanied by lightning flashing back and forth. The hail that fell was so severe that nothing like it had ever been seen in the whole of Egypt since the beginning of its history.
25 And the hail smote throughout the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both men and cattle; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field.
All across Egypt hail hit everything in the fields, both people and animals. It knocked down everything growing in the fields, and stripped every tree bare.
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
Only in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived was there no hail.
27 And Pharaoh sent, and called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time: Jehovah is the righteous [one], but I and my people are the wicked [ones].
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them, “I admit that I sinned this time! The Lord is right, and I and my people are wrong!
28 Intreat Jehovah that it may be enough, that there be no more thunder of God and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer!
Pray to the Lord for us, because there's been more than enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you leave. You don't need to stay here any longer.”
29 And Moses said to him, When I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Jehovah: the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail; that thou mayest know that the earth is Jehovah's.
“Once I've left the city, I will pray to the Lord for you,” Moses told him. “The thunder will stop, and there'll be no more hail, so that you will realize that the earth belongs to the Lord.
30 But as to thee and thy bondmen, I know that ye do not yet fear Jehovah Elohim.
But I know you and your officials still do not really respect the Lord our God.”
31 And the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
(The flax and barley were destroyed, because the barley was ripe and the flax was flowering.
32 But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten; for they were not come out into ear.
However, the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed because they grow later.)
33 And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to Jehovah; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not [any more] poured on the earth.
Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city, and prayed to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rainstorm finished.
34 And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, and he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he, and his bondmen.
When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again, and he chose to become stubborn again, along with his officials.
35 And the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, neither would he let the children of Israel go, as Jehovah had spoken by Moses.
Because of his stubborn attitude, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.
