Exodus 9
1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and speak to him, Thus hath said the Eternal, 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 refusest to let them go, and still holdest on to them,
If you refuse to let them go and keep holding onto them,
3 Behold, the hand of the Lord will be sent against thy cattle which is in the field, against the horses, against the asses, against the camels, against the oxen, and against the sheep; —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 the Lord will distinguish between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and not one head shall die of all that belongeth to the children 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 the Lord appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow will the Lord 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 the Lord did this thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel there 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 had not died of the cattle of the Israelites even one; but the heart of Pharaoh remained 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 the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take unto yourselves your hands full of soot of the furnace, and let Moses throw it heavenward 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 small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall become upon man and beast an inflammation, producing boils, 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 the soot of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it up heavenward; and it became an inflammation, producing boils, 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 inflammation; for the inflammation 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 the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord 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 the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and place thyself before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus hath said the Eternal, 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 at this time I send all my plagues against thy heart, and against thy servants, and against thy people; in order that thou mayest know that there is none like me on 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 even now I might have stretched out my hand, and I might have smitten thee and thy people with the pestilence; and thou wouldst have been 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 But for this cause have I allowed thee to remain, in order to show thee my power; and in order that they may proclaim my name 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 If thou dost yet wantonly oppress my people, so as not to let them go:
But in your pride you are still tyrannizing my people, and refuse to let them leave.
18 Behold, then will I let rain, about this time tomorrow, a very grievous hail, the like of which hath not been in Egypt since the day of its foundation 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 And now send, and bring under shelter thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; [for] every man and beast that shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought into the house, upon them shall the hail 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 the Lord 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 the Lord 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 the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven, and there shall be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, 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 forth his staff toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran down to the ground; and the Lord 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 And there was hail, and fire was flaming up amidst the hail, very grievous, the like of which had not been in all the land of Egypt, since it had become 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 every herb of the field did the hail smite, and every tree of the field did it break.
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, there was 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 he said unto them, I have sinned this time; the Eternal is the righteous, and I and my people are the 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 Entreat the Lord that there may be no more of the thunders of God, and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall no longer stay here.
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 out my hands unto the Lord: the thunders shall cease, and the hail shall not be any more; in order that thou mayest know how that to the Lord belongeth the earth.
“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 are not yet afraid before the Lord God.
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 millet were not smitten; for they are late-ripening.
However, the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed because they grow later.)
33 And Moses went away from Pharaoh out of the city, and spread out his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured out 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 had ceased, he sinned yet farther, 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 remained hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by the hand of Moses.
Because of his stubborn attitude, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.
