Exodus 9
1 Then Yhwh said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith Yhwh 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 wilt hold them still,
If you refuse to let them go and keep holding onto them,
3 Behold, the hand of Yhwh is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous pestilence.
I will punish you by bringing a very severe plague on your livestock—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
4 And Yhwh shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel.
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 Yhwh appointed a set time, saying, To morrow Yhwh shall 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 Yhwh 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.
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. And 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 Yhwh 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.
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 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.
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 up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
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 magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon 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 Yhwh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as Yhwh had spoken unto 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 Yhwh said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith Yhwh 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 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.
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 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.
By now I could have reached out to strike you and your people with a plague that would have completely destroyed you.
16 And 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.
However, I have let you live so you can see my power, and that my reputation may be spread throughout the earth.
17 As yet exaltest thou 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 the foundation thereof even 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 Send 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.
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 Yhwh among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants 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 And he that regarded not the word of Yhwh left his servants and his cattle in the field.
But those who didn't care what the Lord said left their servants and livestock outside.
22 And Yhwh 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.
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 forth his rod toward heaven: And Yhwh sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; And Yhwh rained hail upon 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 So 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.
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 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.
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 for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: Yhwh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
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 Yhwh (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.
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 unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto Yhwh; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is Yhwh’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 for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear Yhwh God.
But I know you and your officials still do not really respect the Lord our God.”
31 And the flax and the barley was 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 rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.
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 abroad his hands unto Yhwh: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon 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 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.
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 hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as Yhwh had spoken by Moses.
Because of his stubborn attitude, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.
