Exodus 9:13-35

13 The Lord then said to Moses, "Early tomorrow morning meet with the king and tell him that the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, "Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

14 This time I will punish not only your officials and your people, but I will punish you as well, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the world.

15 If I had raised my hand to strike you and your people with disease, you would have been completely destroyed.

16 But to show you my power I have let you live so that my fame might spread over the whole world. ¹

17 Yet you are still arrogant and refuse to let my people go.

18 This time tomorrow I will cause a heavy hailstorm, such as Egypt has never known in all its history.

19 Now give orders for your livestock and everything else you have in the open to be put under shelter. Hail will fall on the people and animals left outside unprotected, and they will all die.' "

20 Some of the king's officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said, and they brought their slaves and animals indoors for shelter.

21 Others, however, paid no attention to the Lord's warning and left their slaves and animals out in the open.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Raise your hand toward the sky, and hail will fall over the whole land of Egypt - on the people, the animals, and all the plants in the fields."

23 So Moses raised his stick toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the ground. The Lord sent

24 a heavy hailstorm, with lightning flashing back and forth. It was the worst storm that Egypt had ever known in all its history. ²

25 All 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.

26 The region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was the only place where there was no hail.

27 The 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.

28 Pray 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."

29 Moses 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.

30 But I know that you and your officials do not yet fear the Lord God."

31 The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding.

32 But none of the wheat was ruined, because it ripens later.

33 Moses 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.

34 When the king saw what had happened, he sinned again. He and his officials remained as stubborn as ever

35 and, just as the Lord had foretold through Moses, the king would not let the Israelites go.

Exodus 9:13-35 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 9

This chapter relates the plague of murrain upon the cattle, and which yet was not upon the cattle of the Israelites, Ex 9:1-7 and the plague of boils and blains on man and beast, Ex 9:8-11 and Pharaoh's heart being hardened, Moses is sent to him with a message from the Lord, threatening him that all his plagues should come upon him, and particularly the pestilence, if he would not let Israel go; and signifying, that to show his power in him, and declare his name throughout the earth, had he raised him up, and a kind of amazement is expressed at his obstinacy and pride, Ex 9:12-17, and he is told that a terrible storm of hail should fall upon the land, and destroy all in the field; wherefore those that regarded the word of the Lord got their cattle within doors, but those that did not took no care of them, Ex 9:18-21 and upon Moses's stretching out his hand, when ordered by the Lord, the storm began, and destroyed every thing in the field throughout the land, excepting the land of Goshen, Ex 9:22-26 upon which Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, acknowledged his sin, and the justice of God, begged they would entreat for him, which Moses did; but when the storm was over, Pharaoh's heart was still more hardened, and he refused to let the people go, Ex 9:27-35.

Cross References

• 1. 9.16Romans 9.17.
• 2. 9.24Revelation 8.7; 16.21.