Exodus 9:23-33

23 And Moses held forth the rod into heaven (And Moses stretched forth his staff toward the heavens); and the Lord gave thunders, and hail, and lightnings running about on (all) the land; and the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt;
24 and hail and fire meddled together were borne forth; and it was of so much greatness, how great appeared never before in all the land of Egypt, since that people was made. (and hail and fire mixed, or mingled, together were brought forth; yea, it was so great, that never had such appeared before in all the land of Egypt, since that people were made.)
25 And the hail smote in all the land of Egypt all (the) things that were in the fields, from man till to work beast; and the hail smote all the herb of the field, and brake all the flax of the country;
26 only the hail felled not in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were. (and only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, did no hail fall/was there no hail.)
27 And Pharaoh sent, and called (for) Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned also now (This time I have sinned); the Lord is just, and I and my people be wicked;
28 pray ye the Lord, that the thunders and hail of God cease, and I shall deliver you, and dwell ye no more here (and I shall let you go, and ye shall no longer remain here).
29 Moses said, When I shall go out of the city, I shall hold forth mine hands to the Lord, and [the] lightnings and (the) thunders shall cease, and (the) hail shall not be, (so) that thou know, that the earth is the Lord's;
30 forsooth I know, that thou and thy servants dread not yet the Lord [God]. (but I know, that thou and thy servants do not yet fear the Lord God.)
31 Therefore the flax and barley was hurt, for the barley was green, and the flax had burgeoned then knops; (And so the flax and the barley were destroyed, for the barley was still green, and the flax had only then brought forth knops, or buds;)
32 forsooth wheat and beans were not hurt, for those were late sown. (but the wheat and the beans were not destroyed, for they were sown late.)
33 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and from the city, and held forth his hands to the Lord, and (the) thunders and (the) hail ceased, and [the] rain dropped no more on the earth.

Exodus 9:23-33 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.