Exodus 9:23-33

23 And Moses stretched forth his hand to heaven, and the Lord sent thunderings and hail; and the fire ran along upon the ground, and the Lord rained hail on all the land of Egypt.

24 So there was hail and flaming fire mingled with hail; and the hail was very great, such as was not in Egypt, from the time there was a nation upon it.

25 And the hail smote in all the land of Egypt both man and beast, and the hail smote all the grass in the field, and the hail broke in pieces all the trees in the field.

26 Only in the land of Gesem where the children of Israel were, the hail was not.

27 And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time: the Lord righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

28 Pray then for me to the Lord, and let him cause the thunderings of God to cease, and the hail and the fire, and I will send you forth and ye shall remain no longer.

29 And Moses said to him, When I shall have departed from the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord, and the thunderings shall cease, and the hail and the rain shall be no longer, that thou mayest know that the earth the Lord's.

30 But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye have not yet feared the Lord.

31 And the flax and the barley were smitten, for the barley was advanced, and the flax was seeding.

32 But the wheat and the rye were not smitten, for they were late.

33 And Moses went forth from Pharao out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunders ceased and the hail, and the rain did not drop 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. voices.
• [b]. cease from being.