< Exodus 9 >
1 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.
Then the LORD said unto Moses: 'Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him: Thus saith the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
2 If you still keep refusing to let them go [DOU],
For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
3 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].
behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the herds, and upon the flocks; there shall be a very grievous murrain.
4 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.”’
And the LORD shall make a division between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall nothing die of all that belongeth to the children of Israel.'
5 [Tell him that] I have determined/decided that tomorrow is the day that I will do this in this land.”
And the LORD appointed a set time, saying: 'Tomorrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.'
6 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.
And the LORD 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.
7 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.
And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he did not let the people go.
8 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.
And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron: 'Take to you handfuls of soot of the furnace, and let Moses throw it heavenward in the sight of Pharaoh.
9 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.”
And it shall become small dust over 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.'
10 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.
And they took soot of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it up heavenward; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast.
11 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.
And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
12 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].
And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.
13 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].
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him: Thus saith the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
14 [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.
For I will this time send all My plagues upon thy person, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like Me in all the earth.
15 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.
Surely now I had put forth My hand, and smitten thee and thy people with pestilence, and thou hadst been cut off from the earth.
16 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.
But in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to show thee My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17 You are still acting proudly and refusing to let my people go.
As yet exaltest thou thyself against My people, that thou wilt not let them go?
18 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].
Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now.
19 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].
Now therefore send, hasten in 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 home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.'
20 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.
He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses;
21 But those who did not pay any attention to what Yahweh had said left their slaves and their animals in the fields.
and he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
22 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.”
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Stretch forth thy 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.'
23 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.
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down unto the earth; and the LORD caused to hail upon the land of Egypt.
24 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.
So there was hail, and fire flashing up amidst the hail, very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25 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.
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 broke every tree of the field.
26 Only in the Goshen region, where the Israeli people were [living], was there no hail.
Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 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.
And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them: 'I have sinned this time; the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
28 (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.”
Entreat the LORD, and let there be enough of these mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.'
29 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.
And Moses said unto him: 'As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread forth my hands unto the LORD; the thunders shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know that the earth is the LORD'S.
30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear Yahweh God.”
But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.' —
31 When the hail fell, the flax was ruined because the buds were forming, and the barley was ruined because its grain was ripe.
And the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom.
32 But none of the wheat crops was ruined, because their shoots were still very small.
But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten; for they ripen late. —
33 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].
And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread forth his hands unto the LORD; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.
34 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].
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.
35 So, just as Yahweh had predicted by what he told Moses/me, the king did not allow the Israeli people to leave.
And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.