Exodus 9:23–35

²³So Moses raised his stick towards the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the ground. The Lord sent ^24*a heavy hailstorm, with lightning flashing to and fro. It was the worst storm that Egypt had ever known in all its history. ²⁵All over Egypt the hail struck down everything in the open, including all the people and all the animals. It beat down all the plants in the fields and broke all the trees. ²⁶The region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was the only place where there was no hail.

²⁷The king sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and my people and I are in the wrong. ²⁸Pray to the Lord! We have had enough of this thunder and hail! I promise to let you go; you don’t have to stay here any longer.”

²⁹Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will lift up my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰But I know that you and your officials do not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding. ³²But none of the wheat was ruined, because it ripens later.

³³Moses left the king, went out of the city, and lifted up his hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder, the hail, and the rain all stopped. ³⁴When the king saw what had happened, he sinned again. He and his officials remained as stubborn as ever ³⁵and, just as the Lord had foretold through Moses, the king would not let the Israelites go.