The Plague of Hail

¹³ And Yahweh said to Moses, “^(A)Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “^(B)Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ¹⁴ For this time I will send all My plagues against your heart and amongst your servants and your people, so that ^(C)you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵ For if by now I had sent forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been wiped out from the earth. ¹⁶ But, indeed, ^(D)for this reason I have caused you to stand, in order to show you My power and in order to recount My name through all the earth. ¹⁷ Still you ^[a]exalt yourself against My people ^[b]by not letting them go. ¹⁸ Behold, about this time tomorrow, ^(E)I will rain down very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded ^[c]until now. ¹⁹ So now, send, bring ^(F)your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. ^(G)Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, the hail will come down on them, and they will die.”’” ^20 (H)The one among the servants of Pharaoh who ^[d]feared the word of Yahweh made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; ²¹ but he who did not ^[e]consider in his heart the word of Yahweh ^[f]left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²² Now Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that ^(I)there may be hail on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ So Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and Yahweh gave forth ^[g]thunder and ^(J)hail, and fire went down to the earth. And Yahweh rained down hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ So there was hail, and fire ^[h]flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ^25 (K)And the hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from man to beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. ^26 (L)Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh ^(M)sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “^(N)I have sinned this time; Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. ^28 (O)Entreat Yahweh, for God’s ^[i]thunder and hail are too much; and ^(P)I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” ²⁹ And Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will ^(Q)spread out my ^[j]hands to Yahweh; the ^[k]thunder will cease, and there will be hail no longer, that you may know that ^(R)the earth is Yahweh’s. ^30 (S)But as for you and your servants, I know that ^(T)you do not yet ^[l]fear ^[m]Yahweh God.” ³¹ (Now the flax and the ^(U)barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not struck down, for they are late-ripening.) ^33 (V)And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his ^[n]hands to Yahweh; and the ^[o]thunder and the hail ceased, and rain ^[p]no longer poured on the earth. ³⁴ But Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the ^[q]thunder had ceased. So he sinned again and ^[r]hardened his heart with firmness, he and his servants. ³⁵ And Pharaoh’s heart was ^[s]hardened with strength, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as ^(W)Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Moses.