¹⁸ Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm^(A) that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.^(B)

²³ When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder^(A) and hail,^(B) and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt;

¹⁸ Then Samuel called on the Lord,^(A) and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe^(B) of the Lord and of Samuel.

¹⁹ The people all said to Samuel, “Pray^(C) to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die,^(D) for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”

⁹ Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin^(A) had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain.