Exodus 9:13-35
Lexham English Bible
Plague Seven: Hail
13 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “Release my people so that they may serve me. 14 For at this time I am sending all of my plagues to you personally[a] and among your servants and among your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For now I could have stretched out my hand, and I could have struck you and your people with the plague, and you would have perished from the earth. 16 But for the sake of this I have caused you to stand—for the sake of showing you my strength and in order to proclaim my name in all the earth. 17 Still you are behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them. 18 Look, about this time tomorrow, I am going to cause very severe[b] hail to rain, the like of which has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 And now send word; bring into safety your livestock and all that belongs to you in the field. The hail will come down on every human and animal that is found in the field and not gathered into the house, and they will die.”’”
20 Anyone from the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh caused his servants and livestock to flee to the houses. 21 But whoever did not give regard to[c] the word of Yahweh abandoned his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand to the heavens, and let there be hail in all the land of Egypt, on human and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field in the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his staff to the heavens, and Yahweh gave thunder[d] and hail, and fire went to the earth, and Yahweh caused hail to rain on the land of Egypt. 24 And there was hail, and fire was flashing back and forth in the midst of the very severe hail, the like of which was not in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, from human to animal, and the hail struck all the vegetation of the field and smashed every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites[e] were, there was no hail.
27 And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time. Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 Pray to Yahweh. The thunder of God and hail are enough,[f] and I will release you, and you will no longer have to stay.”[g] 29 And Moses said to him, “At my leaving the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth belongs to Yahweh. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the presence of Yahweh God.”
31 And the flax and the barley were struck, because the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, because they are late-ripening.
33 And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain did not pour on the earth. 34 And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder stopped, and he again sinned[h] and made his heart insensitive,[i] he and his servants. 35 And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not release the Israelites,[j] as Yahweh had said by the agency of Moses.[k]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 9:14 Literally “to your heart,” that is, in a way designed to receive attention
- Exodus 9:18 Literally “heavy”
- Exodus 9:21 Literally “put his heart to”
- Exodus 9:23 The word often translated “voice” or “sound” is also used to describe thunder, as in this chapter
- Exodus 9:26 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 9:28 Literally “much/great from the being of the voices/thunder”
- Exodus 9:28 Literally “you will not add to stand/remain”
- Exodus 9:34 Literally “he added to sin”
- Exodus 9:34 Literally “he made his heart heavy”
- Exodus 9:35 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 9:35 Literally “by the hand of Moses”
Exodus 9:13-35
New Living Translation
A Plague of Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 14 If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you[a] and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth. 16 But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power[b] and to spread my fame throughout the earth. 17 But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go. 18 So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. 19 Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’”
20 Some of Pharaoh’s officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields. 21 But those who paid no attention to the word of the Lord left theirs out in the open.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky so hail may fall on the people, the livestock, and all the plants throughout the land of Egypt.”
23 So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The Lord sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt. 24 Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning. 25 It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed. 26 The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.
27 Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he confessed. “The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong. 28 Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We’ve had enough. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”
29 “All right,” Moses replied. “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”
31 (All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding. 32 But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)
33 So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and went out of the city. When he lifted his hands to the Lord, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.[c] 35 Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.
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