Exodus 9

9 ¹Then our Father told Moses, "Go tell Pharaoh, 'This is what the Father of the Hebrews says: "Let my people go to worship me. ²For if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, ³the hand of our Father will be on your livestock in the field: horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks—a very severe plague. ⁴But our Father will distinguish Israel's livestock from Egypt's, so none of Israel's will die."'" ⁵And our Father set a time, saying, "Tomorrow I will do this in the land."

⁶The next day our Father did this: all Egypt's livestock died, but Israel's livestock—not one died. ⁷Pharaoh sent to check: not one of Israel's animals had died. Yet Pharaoh's heart stayed hard, and he refused to let the people go.

Boils on Every Egyptian

⁸Then our Father told Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses scatter it skyward before Pharaoh. ⁹It will become fine dust over all Egypt, breaking into festering boils on people and animals throughout Egypt."

¹⁰They took kiln soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it skyward, and boils broke out, festering on people and animals. ¹¹The magicians could not stand before Moses, for boils were on them and all Egyptians. ¹²But our Father hardened Pharaoh's heart; he wouldn't listen to them, as our Father had told Moses.

Warning Before the Storm

¹³Then our Father told Moses, "Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and say to him: 'This is what the Father of the Hebrews says: "Let my people go to worship me. ¹⁴This time I am sending all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people, so you know there is no one like me in all the earth. ¹⁵By now I could have raised my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, erasing you from the earth. ¹⁶But I raised you up to show you my power and proclaim my name throughout all the earth. ^a a v16 Paul quotes this verse in Romans 9:17 — even Pharaoh's defiance served our Father's purpose to make his name known across the whole earth. ¹⁷You are still setting yourself against my people and refusing to let them go. ¹⁸Tomorrow at this time I will rain down hail so severe none like it has hit Egypt from its founding until now. ¹⁹Now send: get your livestock and all you have in the field to safety, for the hail will fall on every person and animal left in the field, not brought inside, and they will die."'"

²⁰Those among Pharaoh's officials who feared the word of our Father hurried their servants and livestock indoors, ²¹but whoever ignored the word of our Father left his servants and livestock in the field.

²²Then our Father said to Moses, "Stretch your hand toward the sky, and hail will fall on all Egypt—on people, animals, and every plant in the field, throughout Egypt."

²³Moses stretched his staff toward the sky, and our Father sent thunder and hail, and fire ran to the ground. Our Father rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴There was hail, and fire flashing continually within the hail, so heavy that nothing like it had occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the field, both people and animals; it struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. ²⁶Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived, was there no hail.

²⁷Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "This time I've sinned. God is right; I and my people are wrong. ²⁸Plead with your Father—there's been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go; stay no longer."

²⁹Moses told him, "Once I leave the city, I'll spread my hands to our Father. The thunder will stop and hail will end, so you'll know the earth is our Father's. ³⁰But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear our Father."

³¹(Flax and barley were ruined, because barley had headed and flax was blooming. ³²But the wheat and the emmer wheat were not ruined, because they ripen later.). ³³Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread his hands to our Father. The thunder and hail stopped, and rain no longer poured on the land. ³⁴When Pharaoh saw the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he sinned again, hardening his heart—he and his officials. ³⁵So Pharaoh's heart hardened; he refused to let Israel go, as our Father had said through Moses.