Exo 9 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then the Lord said to Moses , “ Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘ This is what the Lord , the God of the Hebrews says : “ Let My people go , so that they may serve Me.

Exodus 9

Egyptian Livestock Die

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “ ^aLet My people go, so that they may serve Me. 2 For ^bif you refuse to let them go and ^{▼▼Lit still hold}continue to hold them, 3 behold, ^dthe hand of the Lord ^{▼▼Lit will be}will come with a very severe plague on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. 4 ^fBut the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that ^gnothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’” 5 And the Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and ^hall the livestock of Egypt died; ⁱbut not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But ^jthe heart of Pharaoh was ^{▼▼Lit heavy}hardened, and he did not let the people go.

The Plague of Boils

8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses shall toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into ^lboils breaking out with sores on every person and animal through all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal. 11 ^mThe soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians. 12 But ⁿthe Lord ^{▼▼Lit made strong}hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “ ^pRise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “ ^qLet My people go, so that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I am going to send all My plagues ^{▼▼Lit to your heart}on you and your servants and your people, so that ^syou may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. 15 For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth. 16 But indeed, ^tfor this reason I have allowed you to ^{▼▼Lit stand}remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth. 17 Still you exalt yourself against My people ^{▼▼Lit so as not to let}by not letting them go.

The Plague of Hail

18 Behold, about this time tomorrow, ^wI will ^{▼▼Lit cause to rain}send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded ^{▼▼Lit and until now}until now. 19 So now, send word, bring ^zyour livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. ^aaEvery person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.”’” 20 ^abEveryone among the servants of Pharaoh who ^{▼▼Or revered}feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses; 21 but everyone who ^{▼▼Lit did not set his heart to}did not pay regard to the word of the Lord ^{▼▼Lit then left}left his servants and his livestock in the field.

22 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that ^{▼▼Lit there may be hail
,} ^aghail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the Lord ^{▼▼Lit gave}sent ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder and ^ajhail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 ^akThe hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field. 26 ^alOnly in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.

27 Then Pharaoh ^{▼▼Lit sent and called
,} ^ansent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “ ^aoI have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 ^apPlead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder and hail; and ^arI will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will ^asspread out my ^{▼▼Lit palms}hands to the Lord; the ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that ^avthe earth is the Lord’s. 30 ^awBut as for you and your servants, I know that ^axyou do not yet ^{▼▼Or revere}fear ^{▼▼Lit before the Lord}the Lord God.” 31 (Now the flax and the ^babarley were ^{▼▼Lit struck}ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not ^{▼▼Lit struck}ruined, for they ripen late.) 33 ^bdSo Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his ^{▼▼Lit palms}hands to the Lord; and the ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder and the hail stopped, and rain ^{▼▼Lit was not poured}no longer poured on the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder had stopped, he sinned again and ^{▼▼Lit made heavy}hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was ^{▼▼Lit strong}hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the ^bkLord had spoken through Moses.