Study Desk

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them,

then the Lord 's hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.

But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die."

And the Lord set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land."^(a)

The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died,^(b) but none among the Israelite livestock died.

Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened,^(c) and he did not let the people go.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils^(d) on man and beast throughout the land of Egypt."

So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on man and beast.

The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.^(e)

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart^(f) and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses.

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

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

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.^(g)

However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power^(h) and to make My name known in all the earth.

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

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

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."

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

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

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt."

So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail.^(j) Lightning struck the earth, and the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.

The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field.

The only place it didn't hail was in the land of Goshen where the Israelites were.^(k)

Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. "I have sinned this time," he said to them. "Yahweh is the Righteous^(l) One, and I and my people are the guilty ones.

Make an appeal to Yahweh. There has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go;^(m) you don't need to stay any longer."

Moses said to him, "When I have left the city, I will extend my hands⁽ⁿ⁾ to Yahweh. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth^(o) belongs to Yahweh.

But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear Yahweh our God."

The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe^[c] and the flax was budding,^(p)

but the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed since they are later crops.^[d]

Moses went out from Pharaoh and the city, and extended his hands to the Lord . Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land.

When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials.

So Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of Mine among them,^[a](a)

and so that you may tell^[b] your son and grandson^(b) how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am Yahweh."

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, "This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may worship Me.^(c)

But if you refuse to let My people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts^(d) into your territory.

They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left^(e) to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields.

They will fill your houses, all your officials' houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and ancestors never saw since the time they occupied the land until today." Then he turned and left Pharaoh's presence.

Pharaoh's officials asked him, "How long must this man be a snare^(f) to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship Yahweh their God. Don't you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?"

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship Yahweh your God," Pharaoh said. "But exactly who will be going?"

Moses replied, "We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds because we must hold Yahweh's festival."^(g)

He said to them, "May Yahweh be with you if I ever let you and your families go!^[c] Look out—you are planning evil.

No, only the men may go and worship Yahweh, for that is what you have been asking for." And they were driven from Pharaoh's presence.

The Lord then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left."

So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts.

The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there never will be again.^(h)

They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.⁽ⁱ⁾

Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you.

Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to Yahweh your God, so that He will take this death away from me."

Moses left Pharaoh's presence and appealed to the Lord .^(j)

Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west^[d] wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea.^(k) Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart,^(l) and he did not let the Israelites go.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."

So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.

One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.^(m)

Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship Yahweh. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind."

Moses responded, "You must also let us have^[e] sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for Yahweh our God.

Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship Yahweh our God. We will not know what we will use to worship Yahweh until we get there."

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart,⁽ⁿ⁾ and he was unwilling to let them go.

Pharaoh said to him, "Leave me! Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die."

"As you have said," Moses replied, "I will never see your face again."^(o)

The Lord said^[a] to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go,^[b] he will drive you out of here.

Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold jewelry."

The Lord gave^[c] the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And the man Moses was highly regarded^[d] in the land of Egypt by^[e] Pharaoh's officials and the people.^(a)

So Moses said, "This is what Yahweh says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,

and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is behind the millstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.

Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before, or ever will be again.

But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not even a dog will snarl,^[f] so that you may know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Leave, you and all the people who follow you.^[g] After that, I will leave.'" And he left Pharaoh's presence in fierce anger.^(b)

The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen^(c) to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart,^(d) and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.