< Exodus 9 >

1 Then the Lord said to Moses: “Enter to Pharaoh, and say to him: ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: Release my people, to sacrifice to me.
Then the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2 But if you still refuse, and you retain them,
For if you refuse to let them go, and will hold them still,
3 behold, my hand will be over your fields. And a very grievous pestilence will be upon the horses, and the donkeys, and the camels, and the oxen, and the sheep.
Behold, the hand of the LORD is on your cattle which is in the field, on the horses, on the asses, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.
4 And the Lord will cause a miracle between the possessions of Israel and the possessions of the Egyptians, so that nothing at all will perish from those things which belong to the sons of Israel.”
And the LORD 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.
5 And the Lord appointed a time, saying: “Tomorrow, the Lord will accomplish this word in the land.”
And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
6 Therefore, the Lord accomplished this word the next day. And all the animals of the Egyptians died. Yet truly, of the animals of the sons of Israel, nothing at all perished.
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 And Pharaoh sent to see; neither was there anything dead of those things that Israel possessed. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not release the people.
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.
8 And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron: “Take handfuls of ashes from the oven, and let Moses sprinkle it into the air, in the sight of Pharaoh.
And the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9 And let there be dust upon all the land of Egypt. For there will be sores and swelling pustules on men and on beasts, throughout the entire land of Egypt.”
And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains on man, and on beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
10 And they took ashes from the oven, and they stood in the sight of Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it in the air. And there came sores with swelling pustules on men and on beasts.
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 on man, and on beast.
11 Neither could the sorcerers stand in the sight of Moses, because of the sores that were on them and on all the land of Egypt.
And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was on the magicians, and on all the Egyptians.
12 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord said to Moses.
And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he listened not to them; as the LORD had spoken to Moses.
13 And the Lord said to Moses: “Rise up in the morning, and stand in the sight of Pharaoh, and you will say to him: ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: Release my people to sacrifice to me.
And the LORD said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14 For at this turn, I will send all my plagues upon your heart, and upon your servants, and upon your people. So may you know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
For I will at this time send all my plagues on your heart, and on your servants, and on your people; that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15 For now, extending my hand, I shall strike you and your people with pestilence, and you will perish from the earth.
For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite you and your people with pestilence; and you shall be cut off from the earth.
16 But it was for this reason that I appointed you, so that I may reveal my strength by you, and so that my name may be described throughout all the earth.
And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, for to show in you my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17 Do you still retain my people, and are you still unwilling to release them?
As yet exalt you yourself against my people, that you will not let them go?
18 So then, tomorrow, at this same hour, I will rain down exceedingly great hail, such as has not been in Egypt from the day that it was founded, even until this present time.
Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
19 Therefore, send immediately and gather together your cattle, and all that you have in the field. For men and beasts, and all things that will be found outside, not gathered in from the fields, and on which the hail will fall, shall die.’”
Send therefore now, and gather your cattle, and all that you have in the field; for on every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down on them, and they shall die.
20 He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh caused his servants and cattle to flee together into the houses.
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 he who neglected the word of the Lord released his servants and cattle into the fields.
And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
22 And the Lord said to Moses: “Extend your hand into the sky, so that there may be hail in the entire land of Egypt, on men, and on beasts, and on every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.”
And the LORD said to Moses, Stretch forth your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
23 And Moses extended his staff into the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and also lightning dashing across the earth. And the Lord rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along on the ground; and the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24 And the hail and intermingled fire drove on together. And it was of such magnitude as had never before been seen in the entire land of Egypt, from the time when that nation was formed.
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.
25 And the hail struck, throughout all the land of Egypt, everything that was in the fields, from man even to beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field, and it broke every tree of the region.
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 land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, did the hail not fall.
Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them: “I have sinned even until now. The Lord is just. I and my people are impious.
And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
28 Pray to the Lord, so that the thundering of God and the hail may cease, so that I may release you, and so that you may by no means remain here any longer.”
Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.
29 Moses said: “When I have departed from the city, I will extend my hands to the Lord, and the thunders will cease, and the hail will not be, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord.
And Moses said to him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands to the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that you may know how that the earth is the LORD’s.
30 But I know that both you and your servants do not yet fear the Lord God.”
But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God.
31 And so, the flax and the barley were damaged, because the barley was growing, and the flax was already developing grains.
And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom.
32 But the wheat and the spelt were not damaged, because they were late.
But the wheat and the rye were not smitten: for they were not grown up.
33 And Moses, departing from Pharaoh out of the city, reached out his hands toward the Lord. And the thunders and hail ceased, neither did there drop any more rain upon the land.
And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands to the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.
34 Then Pharaoh, seeing that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders had ceased, added to his sin.
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 And his heart was weighed down, along with that of his servants, and it was hardened exceedingly. Neither did he release the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had instructed by the hand of Moses.
And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

< Exodus 9 >