Egyptian Livestock Die

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “(A)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. For (B)if you refuse to let them go and [a]continue to hold them, behold, (C)the hand of the Lord [b]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. (D)But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that (E)nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’” And the Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and (F)all the livestock of Egypt died; (G)but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died. And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But (H)the heart of Pharaoh was [c]hardened, and he did not let the people go.

The Plague of Boils

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. Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into (I)boils 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 (J)The 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 (K)the Lord [d]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, “(L)Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “(M)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I am going to send all My plagues [e]on you and your servants and your people, so that (N)you 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, (O)for this reason I have allowed you to [f]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 [g]by not letting them go.

The Plague of Hail

18 Behold, about this time tomorrow, (P)I will [h]send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded [i]until now. 19 So now, send word, bring (Q)your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. (R)Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.”’” 20 (S)Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who [j]feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses; 21 but everyone who [k]did not pay regard to the word of the Lord [l]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 [m](T)hail 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 [n]sent [o]thunder and (U)hail, 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 (V)The 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 (W)Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.

27 Then Pharaoh [p](X)sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “(Y)I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 (Z)Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s [q]thunder and hail; and (AA)I 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 (AB)spread out my [r]hands to the Lord; the [s]thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that (AC)the earth is the Lords. 30 (AD)But as for you and your servants, I know that (AE)you do not yet [t]fear [u]the Lord God.” 31 (Now the flax and the (AF)barley were [v]ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not [w]ruined, for they ripen late.) 33 (AG)So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his [x]hands to the Lord; and the [y]thunder and the hail stopped, and rain [z]no longer poured on the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the [aa]thunder had stopped, he sinned again and [ab]hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was [ac]hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the (AH)Lord had spoken through Moses.

The Plague of Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for (AI)I have [ad]hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may [ae]perform these signs of Mine [af]among them, and (AJ)that you may tell in the [ag]presence of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I [ah]performed My signs among them, (AK)so that you may know that I am the Lord.”

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: ‘How long will you refuse to (AL)humble yourself before Me? (AM)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. And they will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. (AN)They will also eat the rest of what has survived—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree of yours which grows [ai]in the field. Then (AO)your houses will be filled with them, [aj]together with the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they [ak]came upon the earth until this day.’” And he turned and left Pharaoh. Then (AP)Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be (AQ)a snare to us? Let the [al]people go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet [am]realize that Egypt is destroyed?” So Moses and Aaron (AR)were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “(AS)Go, serve the Lord your God! [an]Who specifically are the ones who are going?” Moses said, “(AT)We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, (AU)with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we [ao]must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 Then he said to them, “So may the Lord be with you, when I let you and your little ones go! Watch out, for evil is [ap]on your mind! 11 Not so! Go now, but only the men among you, and serve the Lord, since [aq]that is what you desire.” So (AV)they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(AW)Reach out with your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and (AX)eat every plant of the land, everything that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind [ar]brought the (AY)locusts. 14 (AZ)The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very [as]numerous. There had never been so many [at]locusts, nor would there be so many [au]again. 15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they (BA)ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hurriedly (BB)called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “(BC)I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 So now, please forgive my sin only this once, and (BD)plead with the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.” 18 Then (BE)he left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the [av]Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But (BF)the Lord [aw]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.

Darkness over the Land

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(BG)Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness (BH)which may be felt.” 22 So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was (BI)thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, (BJ)but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh (BK)called for Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind. Even (BL)your little ones may go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also [ax]let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may [ay]sacrifice them to the Lord our God. 26 (BM)Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the Lord our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the Lord.” 27 But (BN)the Lord [az]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “(BO)Get away from me! [ba]Be careful, do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!” 29 Moses said, “You have spoken correctly; (BP)I shall never see your face again!”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 9:2 Lit still hold
  2. Exodus 9:3 Lit will be
  3. Exodus 9:7 Lit heavy
  4. Exodus 9:12 Lit made strong
  5. Exodus 9:14 Lit to your heart
  6. Exodus 9:16 Lit stand
  7. Exodus 9:17 Lit so as not to let
  8. Exodus 9:18 Lit cause to rain
  9. Exodus 9:18 Lit and until now
  10. Exodus 9:20 Or revered
  11. Exodus 9:21 Lit did not set his heart to
  12. Exodus 9:21 Lit then left
  13. Exodus 9:22 Lit there may be hail
  14. Exodus 9:23 Lit gave
  15. Exodus 9:23 Lit sounds
  16. Exodus 9:27 Lit sent and called
  17. Exodus 9:28 Lit sounds
  18. Exodus 9:29 Lit palms
  19. Exodus 9:29 Lit sounds
  20. Exodus 9:30 Or revere
  21. Exodus 9:30 Lit before the Lord
  22. Exodus 9:31 Lit struck
  23. Exodus 9:32 Lit struck
  24. Exodus 9:33 Lit palms
  25. Exodus 9:33 Lit sounds
  26. Exodus 9:33 Lit was not poured
  27. Exodus 9:34 Lit sounds
  28. Exodus 9:34 Lit made heavy
  29. Exodus 9:35 Lit strong
  30. Exodus 10:1 Lit made heavy
  31. Exodus 10:1 Lit put
  32. Exodus 10:1 Lit in his midst
  33. Exodus 10:2 Lit ears
  34. Exodus 10:2 Lit put
  35. Exodus 10:5 Lit from
  36. Exodus 10:6 Lit and the
  37. Exodus 10:6 Lit were
  38. Exodus 10:7 Or men
  39. Exodus 10:7 Lit know
  40. Exodus 10:8 Lit Who and who are
  41. Exodus 10:9 Lit have a feast
  42. Exodus 10:10 Lit before your face
  43. Exodus 10:11 Lit you desire it
  44. Exodus 10:13 Lit carried
  45. Exodus 10:14 Lit heavy
  46. Exodus 10:14 Lit locusts like them before them
  47. Exodus 10:14 Lit after them
  48. Exodus 10:19 Lit Sea of Reeds
  49. Exodus 10:20 Lit made strong
  50. Exodus 10:25 Lit hand over
  51. Exodus 10:25 Lit make them for
  52. Exodus 10:27 Lit made strong
  53. Exodus 10:28 Lit Take care for yourself

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