Exodus 9

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

1Then 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.

NoteThe Hebrew verb rendered "worship" is the ordinary word for serving or working for a master, the same word used of Israel's forced labor for Egypt. The demand is that they stop serving Pharaoh in order to serve the LORD. "Hebrews" is the term outsiders and foreign rulers use for the Israelites in these chapters.

2"If you refuse to let them go, and keep holding on to them,

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

3then know this: the hand of the LORD will strike your farm animals out in the fields. Your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep will all be hit with a terrible disease.

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.

Note"The hand of the LORD" is a standard Hebrew idiom for power in action, especially power to strike. It does not picture a visible hand.

4But the LORD will make a difference between Israel's animals and Egypt's animals. Not one animal belonging to the Israelites will die."

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.

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

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

6The next day the LORD did exactly that. All the farm animals of Egypt died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.

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.

NoteHebrew uses "all" the way spoken English uses "everything", of the whole group in view, here the animals left out in the open fields (v. 3). Egyptian livestock appear again in verses 19–25 and in later chapters.

7Pharaoh sent men to check, and sure enough, not one of the animals belonging to the Israelites was dead. But Pharaoh's heart stayed stubborn, and he would not let the people go.

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.

NoteIn Hebrew the heart is the seat of thought and decision, not of feeling. A "hard" or "heavy" heart means a mind made up and unwilling to change, not a lack of pity.

8Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace, and have Moses throw it into the air while Pharaoh watches.

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.

NoteThe furnace is a kiln, the kind used for firing bricks or lime, the work Israelite slaves did. Moses throws the soot upward in front of Pharaoh so the act is done publicly and in his sight.

9It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt. It will cause painful sores that break open into blisters on people and animals all across Egypt."

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.

10So they took soot from a furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw it into the air, and sores broke out into blisters on people and animals.

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.

11The magicians could not even stand in front of Moses, because they were covered with sores like all the other Egyptians.

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

NoteThe magicians are the Egyptian court's ritual experts, scribe-priests trained in spells, omens and healing arts. They had matched the first signs (7:11, 7:22, 8:7) and failed at the gnats (8:18). "Could not stand before Moses" means they could not present themselves at all; Egyptian ritual specialists were expected to be physically unblemished.

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

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

NoteThis chapter uses more than one Hebrew expression for the same thing: Pharaoh's heart being "heavy," Pharaoh "making it strong" himself, and, here for the first time in the narrative, the LORD making it strong. Earlier plagues say only that Pharaoh's heart was hardened or that he hardened it.

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

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.

14This time I am going to send all my plagues straight at you yourself, and at your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

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.

Note"Plagues" translates a word meaning blows or strikes; it does not mean disease specifically. "Straight at you yourself" renders a Hebrew phrase that runs literally "to your heart", aimed at you personally, at the center of you.

15By now I could have reached out my hand and struck you and your people with a deadly disease, and you would have been wiped off the earth.

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.

NoteThe Hebrew here is compressed and can be read two ways: as what the LORD could have done by now but chose not to do, or as a threat of what he is about to do. Translations differ, and the wording does not settle it.

16But this is the very reason I have let you rise to power: so that I could show you my power, and so that my name would be told all over 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.

Note"Raised you up" translates a verb meaning "caused you to stand." It can mean brought you to power, kept you standing (that is, spared you so far), or set you in place for these events. The Hebrew does not choose between them.

17You are still setting yourself above my people, and you still will not let them go.

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

NoteThe Hebrew verb is rare and its root appears to be connected with a raised road or embankment, giving a picture of setting yourself up as a barrier in the way of my people. The precise sense is uncertain.

18So listen: about this time tomorrow I will send down the worst hailstorm Egypt has ever seen, from the day it was founded until now.

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.

NoteEgypt gets almost no rain, and hail there is very rare. A storm of this kind would have been an extraordinary event rather than a seasonal hazard, which is why the threat carries the weight it does.

19So give the order now to bring your animals and everything you own in the fields under shelter. Every person and animal left out in the open, not brought inside, will die when the hail falls on them.'"

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.

20The officials of Pharaoh who took the LORD's word seriously hurried their servants and their animals indoors.

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

21But those who paid no attention to the LORD's word left their servants and their animals out in the fields.

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

22Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach your hand up toward the sky, so that hail will fall on the whole land of Egypt, on people, on animals, and on every plant in the fields all across Egypt."

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.

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

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.

NoteThe staff is Moses' shepherd's staff, the same one used for the earlier signs. A staff was also a normal emblem of authority. "Fire ran along upon the ground" in the King James is literally "fire walked earthward", lightning striking the ground.

24The hail came down with lightning flashing through it. It was so terrible that nothing like it had ever happened in Egypt since it became a nation.

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.

25All across Egypt the hail struck down everything that was out in the fields, both people and animals. It beat down every plant in the fields and broke every tree in the fields.

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.

26The only place with no hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

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

NoteGoshen is the district in the eastern Nile delta where Jacob's family had been settled generations earlier (Genesis 47), grazing land somewhat apart from the Egyptian heartland.

27Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them, "This time I have sinned. The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.

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.

Note"In the right" and "in the wrong" (King James "righteous" and "wicked") are courtroom words: the LORD has the just case, Pharaoh and his people are the guilty party. "This time I have sinned" can be read as admitting fault on this occasion in particular.

28Pray to the LORD, because we have had enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you do not have to stay here any longer."

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.

NoteHebrew has no separate word for thunder; it says "voices." The phrase here is "voices of God," which can mean either God's own thunder or simply overwhelming thunder, since "of God" sometimes works in Hebrew as a way of saying "enormous."

29Moses said to him, "As soon as I am outside the city, I will lift my hands to the LORD in prayer. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth belongs to the LORD.

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.

NoteSpreading or lifting the hands with palms open toward the sky was the ordinary posture for prayer. The gesture itself, not any spoken formula, is what marks Moses as praying. The text does not say why he waits until he is outside the city.

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

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

31The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe in the head and the flax was in bud.

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

NoteFlax is the plant linen is made from, and linen was Egypt's cloth. Barley was the cheaper bread grain and the fodder for animals. "Ripe in the head" means the seed heads had formed and the stalks were brittle and nearly ready for harvest; flax "in bud" was flowering. Both stages are easily destroyed by hail, and the detail places the storm around January or February.

32But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, because they ripen later and had not yet come up.

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

NoteThe King James "rie" is not rye, which was not grown in Egypt; the grain is spelt, or emmer, a relative of wheat. Wheat and spelt ripen roughly a month later than barley, so they were still short and green and bent under the hail instead of breaking.

33So Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He lifted his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.

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.

34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials made their hearts stubborn.

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.

35So Pharaoh's heart stayed stubborn, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

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