Exodus 9
1 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.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go to the king and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God [we] Hebrews [worship], says: “Allow my people to go, in order that they may worship me.
2 If you refuse to let them go and keep holding onto them,
If you still keep refusing to let them go [DOU],
3 I will punish you by bringing a very severe plague on your livestock—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
I warn you that I will punish you with my power [MTY] by sending a terrible disease on all your animals—on your horses, donkeys, camels, on your cattle, and on your flocks [of sheep and goats].
4 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.’
But I, Yahweh, will distinguish between [what I do to] the animals that belong to the Israeli people and [what I do to] your animals. The result will be that no animal that belongs to the Israeli people will die.”’
5 The Lord has set a time, saying, ‘Tomorrow this is what is going to happen here in the country.’”
[Tell him that] I have determined/decided that tomorrow is the day that I will do this in this land.”
6 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.
The next day Yahweh did just what he said [that he would do]. A terrible disease afflicted all of the Egyptians’ animals, and many of them [HYP] died. But none of the Israeli people’s animals died.
7 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.
The king sent [men to investigate], and they were surprised [to see] that none of the Israeli people’s animals had died. But [after they reported that to] the king, he continued to be stubborn [IDM], and he did not let the [Israeli] people go.
8 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.
Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, “Take a few handfuls of ashes/soot from (a furnace/an oven where they burn lime), and let Moses throw them up into the air, in front of the king.
9 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.”
The [ashes/soot] will spread all over the country of Egypt like fine dust. And the ashes/soot will cause boils to afflict both the Egyptian people and their animals, all over the land.”
10 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.
So they/we both got some ashes/soot and [went and] stood in front of the king. Moses/I threw the ashes/soot up into the air. The ashes/soot spread all over, causing boils to afflict the [Egyptian] people and their animals. All the boils became open sores.
11 The magicians were unable to come and appear before Moses, because they and all the other Egyptians were covered in sores.
Even the men who worked magic had boils. The result was that [they were suffering so much that] they were not able to come to Moses/me, because the men who worked magic had boils just like all [the rest of] the Egyptian people.
12 But the Lord gave Pharaoh a stubborn attitude, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had told Moses.
But Yahweh caused the king to [continue to] be stubborn [IDM]. He did not pay any attention to what they/we [said], just as Yahweh had told Moses/me [would happen].
13 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.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early [tomorrow] morning. Go and stand in front of the king and tell him that Yahweh God, the one that the Hebrew people [worship], says this: ‘Let my people go, in order that they may worship me [in the desert].
14 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.
[If you do not let them go], this time I will [punish] with plagues [not only] your officials and the rest of your people, but I will punish you yourself [SYN], in order that you will know there is no [god] like me anywhere in the world.
15 By now I could have reached out to strike you and your people with a plague that would have completely destroyed you.
By this time I could have used my power [MTY] to strike you and your people with terrible diseases that would have wiped you all from the earth.
16 However, I have let you live so you can see my power, and that my reputation may be spread throughout the earth.
But I have let you live. The reason I have let you live is to show you my power, with the result that [people] all over the earth [HYP] will know how great I [MTY] am.
17 But in your pride you are still tyrannizing my people, and refuse to let them leave.
You are still acting proudly and refusing to let my people go.
18 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.
So listen [to this]: About this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall [in Egypt]. From the time Egypt first became [a country], there has never been a hailstorm [as bad as this one will be].
19 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.’”
So you should send [a message to everyone] to put their cattle, and everything else that they own that is [out] in the fields, under shelters. The hail will fall on every person and every animal that is out in the fields and that is not put under a shelter, and they will all die.’” [So Moses/I did what Yahweh said].
20 Those of Pharaoh's officials who took seriously what the Lord said rushed to bring their servants and livestock inside.
Some of the king’s officials who heard what Yahweh had said became very afraid. So they put all their animals and their slaves under shelters.
21 But those who didn't care what the Lord said left their servants and livestock outside.
But those who did not pay any attention to what Yahweh had said left their slaves and their animals in the fields.
22 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.”
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Raise your hand up toward the sky, in order that hail will fall all over the land of Egypt—on the people and on their animals and on all the plants in the fields.”
23 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.
So Moses/I lifted his/my stick up toward the sky. And Yahweh sent down hail, all over the land of Egypt. There was also thunder and lightning.
24 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.
While very heavy hail was falling, there was thunder, and lightning struck the ground. There had never been a hailstorm like that since Egypt first became a country.
25 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.
The hail struck everything that was in the fields all over Egypt—every person and every animal. The hail destroyed the plants in the fields and stripped [the leaves off] the trees.
26 Only in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived was there no hail.
Only in the Goshen region, where the Israeli people were [living], was there no hail.
27 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!
Then the king sent [someone] to summon Aaron and Moses/me. [When they/we came to the king], he said to them/us, “This time [I admit that] I have sinned. What Yahweh [has done] is right, and what I and my people [have done] is wrong.
28 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.”
(Pray to/Plead with) Yahweh [to cause it to stop]! [We] cannot [endure any more] of this thunder and hail! I will let your people go; they do not have to stay [here in Egypt] any longer.”
29 “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.
Moses/I replied, “As soon as I go out of this city, I will lift up my hands [and pray] to Yahweh. Then the thunder will cease, and no more hail [will fall]. [This will happen] in order that you will know that Yahweh, [not your gods], controls everything [that happens] on the earth.
30 But I know you and your officials still do not really respect the Lord our God.”
But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear Yahweh God.”
31 (The flax and barley were destroyed, because the barley was ripe and the flax was flowering.
When the hail fell, the flax was ruined because the buds were forming, and the barley was ruined because its grain was ripe.
32 However, the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed because they grow later.)
But none of the wheat crops was ruined, because their shoots were still very small.
33 Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city, and prayed to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rainstorm finished.
So Moses/I left the king and went outside the city. He/I lifted up his/my hands toward Yahweh [and prayed]. Then the thunder and the hail stopped, and the rain also stopped falling on the land [of Egypt].
34 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.
But when the king saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials continued to be stubborn [IDM].
35 Because of his stubborn attitude, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.
So, just as Yahweh had predicted by what he told Moses/me, the king did not allow the Israeli people to leave.
