Exodus 9:13-35

Contemporary English Version

Hailstones

¹³ The Lord told Moses to get up early the next morning and say to the king:^[a]

The Lord God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can worship him! ¹⁴ If you don't, he will send his worst plagues to strike you, your officials, and everyone else in your country. Then you will find out that no one can oppose the Lord. ¹⁵ In fact, he could already have sent a terrible disease and wiped you from the face of the earth. ^16 (A) But he has kept you alive, just to show you his power and to bring honor to himself everywhere in the world.

¹⁷ You are still determined not to let the Lord's people go. ¹⁸ All right. At this time tomorrow, he will bring on Egypt the worst hailstorm in its history. ¹⁹ You had better give orders for every person and every animal in Egypt to take shelter. If they don't, they will die.

²⁰ Some of the king's officials were frightened by what the Lord had said, and they hurried off to make sure their slaves and animals were safe. ²¹ But others paid no attention to his threats and left their slaves and animals out in the open.

²² Then the Lord told Moses, “Stretch your arm toward the sky, so that hailstones will fall on people, animals, and crops in the land of Egypt.” ^23-24 (B) Moses pointed his walking stick toward the sky, and hailstones started falling everywhere. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed back and forth, striking the ground. This was the worst storm in the history of Egypt. ²⁵ People, animals, and crops were pounded by the hailstones, and bark was stripped from trees. ²⁶ Only Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was safe from the storm.

²⁷ The king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Now I have really sinned! My people and I are guilty, and the Lord is right. ²⁸ We can't stand any more of this thunder and hail. Please ask the Lord to make it stop. Your people can go—you don't have to stay in Egypt any longer.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my arms in prayer. When the thunder and hail stop, you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But I am certain that neither you nor your officials really fear the Lord God.”

³¹ Meanwhile, the flax and barley crops had been destroyed by the storm because they were ready to ripen. ³² But the wheat crops^[b] ripen later, and they were not damaged.

³³ After Moses left the royal palace and the city, he lifted his arms in prayer to the Lord, and the thunder, hail, and drenching rain stopped. ³⁴ When the king realized that the storm was over, he disobeyed once more. He and his officials were so stubborn ³⁵ that he refused to let the Israelites go. This was exactly what the Lord had said would happen.