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The Fifth Plague: Livestock Die

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. For if you refuse to let them go and continue holding them, indeed, the hand of the Lord will be upon your livestock which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep. There shall be a very grievous pestilence. The Lord shall separate between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.’ ”

So the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land.” Then the Lord did this thing the next day, so that all the livestock of Egypt died, but not one of the livestock of the children of Israel died. Pharaoh sent, and there was not one of the livestock of the children of Israel dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, so that he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

Then the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a kiln, and let Moses toss it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and shall be a boil breaking forth with blisters upon man and beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.”

10 So they took the ashes from a kiln and stood before Pharaoh. Then Moses tossed it up toward the heavens, and it became a boil breaking forth with blisters upon man and beast. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 Moreover, the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, so that he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 14 For I will at this time send all My plagues upon you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out My hand, so that I might strike you and your people with pestilence, and you would be cut off from the earth. 16 But, indeed, for this cause I have raised you up, in order to show in you My power and so that My name may be declared throughout all the earth. 17 Still, you exalt yourself against My people by forbidding them to go. 18 Certainly, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very severe hail, such as has not happened in Egypt since it was founded until now. 19 Send therefore now and bring your livestock and all that you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast which shall be found in the field and not brought home when the hail comes down upon them will die.’ ”

20 He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses. 21 But he that failed to regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

22 So the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch forth your hand toward the heavens, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man and beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 Moses stretched forth his rod toward the heavens, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran along upon the ground. So the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail. It was so severe that there had been none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast, and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

27 Then 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 Entreat the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s mighty thunder and hail, and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord. The thunder shall cease, and there shall no longer be any more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”

31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they grow up later.

33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was no longer poured upon the earth. 34 However, 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 The heart of Pharaoh hardened, and he would not let the children of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

The Plague on Livestock

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship(A) me.” If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, the hand(B) of the Lord will bring a terrible plague(C) on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt,(D) so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”

The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock(E) of the Egyptians died,(F) but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart(G) was unyielding and he would not let the people go.(H)

The Plague of Boils

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils(I) will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians(J) could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart(K) and he would not listen(L) to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

The Plague of Hail

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(M) me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know(N) that there is no one like(O) me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people(P) with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up[a] for this very purpose,(Q) that I might show you my power(R) and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm(S) that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.(T) 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”

20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared(U) the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored(V) the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder(W) and hail,(X) and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.(Y) 25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.(Z) 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen,(AA) where the Israelites were.(AB)

27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,”(AC) he said to them. “The Lord is in the right,(AD) and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray(AE) to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go;(AF) you don’t have to stay any longer.”

29 Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands(AG) in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth(AH) is the Lord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear(AI) the Lord God.”

31 (The flax and barley(AJ) were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32 The wheat and spelt,(AK) however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

33 Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart(AL) was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 9:16 Or have spared you