Exodus

Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

1Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Tell him this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

2For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,

2But if you keep saying no, and hold on to them,

3Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

3then my power will strike your farm animals out in the fields. Your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep will get a terrible sickness.

NoteThe old word here is "murrain." It means a sickness that kills farm animals.

4And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel.

4But the LORD will treat Israel's animals differently. Not one animal belonging to the people of Israel will die."

5And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.

5The LORD picked a time for it. He said, "Tomorrow I will do this in the land."

6And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

6The next day the LORD did just what he said. All the farm animals of Egypt died. But not one animal of Israel died.

7And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

7Pharaoh sent men to look. Not one of Israel's animals was dead. Still Pharaoh's heart stayed hard, and he would not let the people go.

8And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

8Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Each of you take a handful of ashes from a furnace, a very hot oven. Moses must throw the ashes into the air while Pharaoh watches.

9And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.

9The ashes will spread like fine dust over all Egypt. Sore, puffy bumps will break out on people and animals everywhere in Egypt."

NoteThe old words are "boil" and "blains." They mean sore, swollen bumps on the skin that hurt a lot.

10And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.

10So they took ashes from the furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes into the air. Sore, puffy bumps broke out on people and animals.

11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.

11Pharaoh's magicians could not even stand in front of Moses. They had the painful bumps too, and so did all the Egyptians.

12And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.

12But the LORD made Pharaoh's heart hard. Pharaoh would not listen to Moses and Aaron. It happened just as the LORD had told Moses.

13And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

13Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning. Go stand in front of Pharaoh. Tell him this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

14For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

14If you say no, I will send all my troubles straight at you. They will strike you, your helpers, and your people. Then you will know that no one anywhere is like me.

15For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.

15By now I could have reached out my hand. I could have struck you and your people with a sickness and wiped you off the earth.

16And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

16But I have let you stay alive for this reason. I want to show you my power. I want my name to be told all over the earth.

17As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

17You are still acting proud and bossy toward my people. You still will not let them go.

18Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

18So listen. Tomorrow at this time I will send hail. It will be the worst hail Egypt has ever had, since the day this land began.

19Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.

19So send word now. Bring your animals and everything you have inside. Any person or animal left out in the field will be hit by the hail and die."

20He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:

20Some of Pharaoh's helpers believed what the LORD said. They hurried their servants and animals indoors.

21And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

21But others paid no attention to what the LORD said. They left their servants and animals out in the field.

22And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.

22Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach your hand up toward the sky. Hail will fall all over Egypt. It will fall on people, on animals, and on every plant in the fields."

23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

23Moses reached his walking stick up toward the sky. The LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

NoteThe KJV says "the fire ran along upon the ground." That means lightning striking down.

24So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

24The hail fell, and lightning flashed in the middle of it. It was so bad that Egypt had never seen anything like it, in all its years as a country.

25And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

25All over Egypt the hail struck everything out in the fields. It hit people and animals. It beat down every plant and broke every tree.

26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

26The only place with no hail was Goshen. That is where the people of Israel lived.

27And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

27Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. He said, "This time I have done wrong. The LORD is right, and my people and I are wrong.

28Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.

28Please ask the LORD to stop. We have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go. You do not have to stay any longer."

29And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’s.

29Moses said to him, "When I leave the city, I will lift my hands up to the LORD. The thunder will stop and the hail will end. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the LORD.

30But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.

30But I know you and your helpers still do not truly respect the LORD God."

31And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.

31The flax and the barley plants were ruined. The barley had grain on it, and the flax had buds.

NoteFlax is a plant used to make cloth. Barley, wheat, and spelt are grains used to make bread.

32But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.

32But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined. They grow later, so they were still small.

33And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.

33Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He lifted his hands up to the LORD. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain quit falling.

34And 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.

34Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped. So he did wrong again. He and his helpers made their hearts hard.

35And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

35Pharaoh's heart stayed hard, and he would not let the people of Israel go. It happened just as the LORD had said through Moses.