Exodus 9
9
The Disease of the Farm Animals
1Then the Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him: “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go to worship me!’ 2If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go, 3then the Lord will use his power against your animals in the fields. He will cause all of your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep to get sick with a terrible disease. 4But the Lord will treat Israel’s animals differently from the animals of Egypt. None of the animals that belong to the Israelites will die. 5The Lord has set the time for this to happen. He said, ‘Tomorrow the Lord will make this happen in this country.’”
6The next morning the Lord did what he said. All the farm animals of the Egyptians died, but none of the animals that belonged to the Israelites died. 7Pharaoh sent people to see if any of the animals of Israel died. Not one of them died. But Pharaoh remained stubborn and did not let the people go.
The Boils
8The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Fill your hands with the ashes from a furnace. Moses, you throw the ashes into the air in front of Pharaoh. 9This will become dust that will go throughout the land of Egypt. Whenever the dust touches a person or an animal in Egypt, sores will break out on the skin.”
10So Moses and Aaron took ashes from a furnace and went and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes into the air, and sores began breaking out on people and animals. 11The magicians could not stop Moses from doing this, because even the magicians had the sores. This happened everywhere in Egypt. 12But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
The Hail
13Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up in the morning and go to Pharaoh. Tell him that the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go to worship me! 14This time, I will use my full power against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know that there is no god in the world like me. 15I could use my power and cause a disease that would wipe you and your people off the earth. 16But I have put you here for a reason. I have put you here so that I could show you my power. Then people all over the world will learn about me! 17You are still against my people. You are not letting them go free. 18So at this time tomorrow, I will cause a very bad hailstorm. There has never been a hailstorm like this in Egypt, not since Egypt became a nation. 19Now, you must put your animals in a safe place. Everything you own that is now in the fields must be put in a safe place. Any person or animal that remains in the fields will be killed. The hail will fall on everything that is not gathered into your houses.’”
20Some of Pharaoh’s officials paid attention to the Lord’s message. They quickly put all of their animals and slaves into houses. 21But other people ignored the Lord’s message and lost all their slaves and animals that were in the fields.
22The Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand into the air and the hail will start falling all over Egypt. The hail will fall on all the people, animals, and plants in all the fields of Egypt.”
23So Moses raised his walking stick into the air, and the Lord sent hail with thunder and lightning down on the earth. The Lord caused hail to fall all over Egypt. 24The hail was falling, and lightning was flashing all through it. It was the worst hailstorm that had ever hit Egypt since it had become a nation. 25The storm destroyed everything in the fields in Egypt. The hail destroyed people, animals, and plants. The hail also broke all the trees in the fields. 26The only place that did not get hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.
27Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is right, and I and my people are wrong. 28We have had enough of this hail and thunder! Ask the Lord to stop the storm, and I will let you go. You don’t have to stay here.”
29Moses told Pharaoh, “When I leave the city, I will lift my hands in prayer to the Lord, and the thunder and hail will stop. Then you will know that the Lord is in this land. 30But I know that you and your officials don’t really fear and respect the Lord yet.”
31The flax had already developed its seeds, and the barley was already blooming. So these plants were destroyed. 32But wheat and spelt ripen later than the other grains, so these plants were not destroyed.
33Moses left Pharaoh and went outside the city. He lifted his hands in prayer to the Lord. And the thunder and hail stopped, and then even the rain stopped.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he again did wrong. He and his officials became stubborn again. 35Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go free, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
Currently Selected:
Exodus 9: ERV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Exodus 9
9
The Plague on Livestock
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Go to Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me. 2Do not refuse to let them go. Do not keep holding them back. 3If you refuse, my powerful hand will bring a terrible plague on you. I will strike your livestock in the fields. I will strike your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. 4But I will treat Israel’s livestock differently from yours. No animal that belongs to the people of Israel will die.” ’ ”
5The Lord set a time for the plague. He said, “Tomorrow I will send it on the land.” 6So the next day the Lord sent it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died. But not one animal that belonged to the Israelites died. 7Pharaoh searched and found out what had happened. He discovered that not even one animal that belonged to the Israelites had died. But he was still very stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people go.
The Plague of Boils
8Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, “Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace. Have Moses toss them into the air in front of Pharaoh. 9The ashes will turn into fine dust over the whole land of Egypt. Then painful boils will break out on people and animals all over the land. Their bodies will be covered with them.”
10So Moses and Aaron took ashes from a furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses tossed them into the air. Then boils broke out on people and animals alike. 11The bodies of all the Egyptians were covered with boils. The magicians couldn’t stand in front of Moses because of the boils that were all over them. 12But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn. Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
The Plague of Hail
13Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Get up early in the morning. Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me. 14If you do not let them go, I will send the full force of my plagues against you this time. They will strike your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in the whole earth. 15By now I could have reached out my hand. I could have struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16But I had a special reason for making you king. I decided to show you my power. I wanted my name to become known everywhere on earth. 17But you are still against my people. You will not let them go. 18So at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm ever to fall on Egypt in its entire history. 19Give an order now to bring your livestock inside to a safe place. Bring in everything that is outside. The hail will fall on all the people and animals that are left outside. They will die.” ’ ”
20The officials of Pharaoh who had respect for what the Lord had said obeyed him. They hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21But others didn’t pay attention to what the Lord had said. They left their slaves and livestock outside.
22Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Reach out your hand toward the sky. Then hail will fall all over Egypt. It will beat down on people and animals alike. It will strike everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23Moses reached out his walking stick toward the sky. Then the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning flashed down to the ground. The Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in Egypt’s entire history. 25Hail struck everything in the fields all over Egypt. It fell on people and animals alike. It beat down everything growing in the fields. It tore all the leaves off the trees. 26The only place it didn’t hail was in the area of Goshen. That’s where the people of Israel were.
27Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “This time I’ve sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord has done what is right. I and my people have done what is wrong. 28Pray to the Lord, because we’ve had enough thunder and hail. I’ll let you and your people go. You don’t have to stay here any longer.”
29Moses replied, “When I’ve left the city, I’ll lift up my hands and pray to the Lord. The thunder will stop. There won’t be any more hail. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. 30But I know that you and your officials still don’t have any respect for the Lord God.”
31The barley was ripe. The flax was in bloom. So they were both destroyed. 32But the wheat and spelt weren’t destroyed. That’s because they ripen later.
33Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. Moses lifted up his hands and prayed to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped. The rain didn’t pour down on the land any longer. 34Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had stopped. So he sinned again. He and his officials became stubborn. 35So Pharaoh was stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.