Exodus 9:1–11:10
The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, a“Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may bserve Me. 2 For if you crefuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3 behold, the dhand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4 And ethe Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” 5 Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”
6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and fall the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the gheart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.
8 So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause hboils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused iboils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the jmagicians could not stand before Moses because of the kboils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he ldid not heed them, just mas the Lord had spoken to Moses.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, n“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may oserve Me, 14 for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, pthat you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 Now if I had qstretched out My hand and struck you and your people with rpestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But indeed for sthis purpose I have raised you up, that I may tshow My power in you, and that My uname may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”
20 He who vfeared the word of the Lord among the wservants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be xhail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and ythe Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the zhail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 aOnly in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
27 And Pharaoh sent and bcalled for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, c“I have sinned this time. dThe Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 eEntreat 1the Lord, that there may be no more 2mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you fgo, and you shall stay no longer.”
29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will gspread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the hearth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, iI know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”
31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, jfor the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are 3late crops.
33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and kspread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So lthe heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
10 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; afor I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, bthat I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that cyou may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may dknow that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to ehumble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may fserve Me. 4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring glocusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and hthey shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 They shall ifill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 Then Pharaoh’s jservants said to him, “How long shall this man be ka snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?”
9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for lwe must hold a feast to the Lord.”
10 Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. 11 Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven mout from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, n“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and oeat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And pthe locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; qpreviously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they rcovered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they sate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
16 Then Pharaoh called tfor Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, u“I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and ventreat 1the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18 So he wwent out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them xinto the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord yhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, z“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, 2darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was athick darkness in all the land of Egypt bthree days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. cBut all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and dsaid, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your elittle ones also go with you.”
25 But Moses said, “You must also give 3us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our flivestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
27 But the Lord ghardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, h“Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”
29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. iI will never see your face again.”
Death of the Firstborn Announced
11 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. aAfterward he will let you go from here. bWhen he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his …