18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”

20 He who (A)feared the word of the Lord among the (B)servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be (C)hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and (D)the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the (E)hail struck throughout the whole 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 (F)Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

27 And Pharaoh sent and (G)called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, (H)“I have sinned this time. (I)The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 (J)Entreat[a] the Lord, that there may be no more [b]mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you (K)go, and you shall stay no longer.”

29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will (L)spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the (M)earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, (N)I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”

31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, (O)for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are [c]late crops.

33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and (P)spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So (Q)the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 9:28 Pray to, Make supplication to
  2. Exodus 9:28 Lit. voices of God or sounds of God
  3. Exodus 9:32 Lit. darkened

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) 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(C) the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored(D) 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(E) and hail,(F) 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.(G) 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.(H) 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen,(I) where the Israelites were.(J)

27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,”(K) he said to them. “The Lord is in the right,(L) and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray(M) to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go;(N) 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(O) in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth(P) is the Lord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear(Q) the Lord God.”

31 (The flax and barley(R) were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32 The wheat and spelt,(S) 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(T) was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

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