Exodus 9:13-21

The Seventh Plague: Hail

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

14 Otherwise, I am going to send all My plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like Me in all the earth.

15 By now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth.

16 However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth.^[a]

17 You are still acting arrogantly against^[b] My people by not letting them go.

18 Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

19 Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them."

20 Those among Pharaoh's officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters,

21 but those who didn't take the Lord's word seriously left their servants and livestock in the field.

Exodus 9:13-21 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.

Footnotes

• [a] 1 Kg 8:43; Ps 8:1,9; Rm 9:17
• [b] Or still obstructing