²³Moses reached his wooden staff out toward the sky. Then the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning flashed down to the ground. The Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in Egypt’s entire history.

²⁵All over Egypt hail struck everything in the fields. It fell on people and animals alike. It beat down everything that was growing in the fields. It tore all of the leaves off the trees.

²⁶The only place it didn’t hail was in the area of Goshen. That’s where the people of Israel were.

²⁷Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “This time I’ve sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord has done what is right. I and my people have done what is wrong. ²⁸Pray to the Lord, because we’ve had enough thunder and hail. I’ll let you and your people go. You don’t have to stay here any longer.”

²⁹Moses replied, “When I’ve left the city, I’ll lift up my hands and pray to the Lord. The thunder will stop. There won’t be any more hail. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰But I know that you and your officials still don’t have any respect for the Lord God.”

³¹The barley was ripe. The flax was blooming. So they were both destroyed. ³²But the wheat and spelt weren’t destroyed. That’s because they ripen later.

³³Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He lifted up his hands and prayed to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped. The rain didn’t pour down on the land any longer.

³⁴Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had stopped. So he sinned again. He and his officials made their hearts stubborn. ³⁵So Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

Read in Logos