Exodus 9
1 Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, —then shalt thou say unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh, 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 But, if, refusing, thou art to let them go, —and still art holding them fast,
If you refuse to let them go and keep holding onto them,
3 lo! the hand of Yahweh, is coming on thy cattle which are in the field, on the horses, on the asses on the camels, on the herds and on the flocks, —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 Yahweh will make a difference between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of the Egyptians, —so that there shall not die from among all that pertaineth to the sons of Israel, a thing!
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 Yahweh appointed a set time—saying, To-morrow, will Yahweh 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 So Yahweh did this thing, on the morrow, and all the cattle of the Egyptians died, —but of the cattle of the sons 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 lo! there had not died of the cattle of Israel, so much as one. But Pharaoh’s heart became dull, 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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take you your hands full of the ashes of an oven, —and Moses shall scatter them towards 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 then shall they become fine dust, over all the land of Egypt, —and shall become on man and on beast, a burning sore, breaking out in pustules in 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 So they took the ashes of an oven and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them towards the heavens, —and it came to pass that there was a burning sore in pustules breaking out, among men, and among beasts;
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 sacred scribes could not stand before Moses, because of the burning sore, —for the burning sore had come on the sacred 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 But Yahweh let the heart of Pharaoh wax bold, and he hearkened not unto them, —as spake Yahweh 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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Rise thou early in the morning, and station thyself before Pharaoh, —then shalt thou say unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh, 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 this time, am I, sending all my plagues unto thy heart, and amongst thy servants and amongst thy people, —to the intent thou mayest get to 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, might I have put forth my hand, and smitten thee and thy people with pestilence, —and thou shouldst have secretly disappeared 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, in very deed for this purpose, have I let thee remain, for the purpose of showing thee my might, —and that my name may be celebrated 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 Even yet, art thou exalting thyself over my people—in not letting them go?
But in your pride you are still tyrannizing my people, and refuse to let them leave.
18 Behold me! raining down, about this time to-morrow, an exceeding heavy hail, —such as hath not been in Egypt, from the day it was founded, even unto the present time.
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 Now, therefore, send—bring into safety thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field, —as touching all men and beasts which shall be found in the field and shall not be withdrawn into shelter, 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 Yahweh, among the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and his cattle flee, under shelter:
Those of Pharaoh's officials who took seriously what the Lord said rushed to bring their servants and livestock inside.
21 but, whoso applied not his heart unto the word of Yahweh, 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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses—Stretch forth thy hand over the heavens, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, —on man and on beast, and on 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 So Moses stretched forth his staff over the heavens, and, Yahweh, gave forth thunderings and hail, and there came fire towards the earth, —and Yahweh rained down 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 So there came to be hail, and fire catching hold of itself, in the midst of the hail, —exceeding heavy, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt, from the very time 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 in 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 shiver.
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 were the sons of Israel, was there no hail.
Only in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived was there no hail.
27 Then sent Pharaoh, and called for Moses and for Aaron, and said unto them—I have sinned this time, —Yahweh, is the righteous one, and, I and my people, are the wrong-doers.
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 Make ye request unto Yahweh, and it shall be enough without there being any more thunderings of God, and hail, —and I must a let you go, and not again shall ye delay.
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, will I spread out my hands unto Yahweh, —the thunderings, shall cease, and, the hail, shall come no more, —that thou mayest know, that to Yahweh, 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 touching thee and thy servants, I know that not yet will ye stand in awe of Yahweh Elohim.
But I know you and your officials still do not really respect the Lord our God.”
31 Now, the flax and the barley, were smitten, —for the barley, was in the ear, and, the flax, was in flower;
(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 ripe.
However, the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed because they grow later.)
33 So Moses went away from Pharaoh out of the city, and spread out his hands unto Yahweh, —then did the thunderings and the hail cease, and, rain, was not poured out 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 when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunderings had ceased, he again sinned, —and made his heart dull, 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 waxed bold, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, —as spake Yahweh 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.
