1Then Yahweh told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so they can worship me.
2If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them captive,
3then Yahweh’s hand will strike your livestock in the fields—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep—with a very terrible disease.
4Yahweh will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt; nothing will die belonging to the people of Israel.'"
5Yahweh set a specific time, saying, 'Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing in the land.'
6Yahweh did that thing the next day; all the livestock of Egypt died, but not one animal belonging to the people of Israel died.
7Pharaoh sent people to check, and indeed, not even one animal of the Israelites had died. But Pharaoh remained stubborn and would not let the people go.
8Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses sprinkle them towards the sky in Pharaoh's presence."
9It will become fine dust all over the land of Egypt and will cause festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout all of Egypt.
10They took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses sprinkled them into the sky, and festering boils broke out on people and animals.
11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
12Yahweh made Pharaoh stubborn, and he did not listen to them, just as Yahweh had told Moses.
13Yahweh said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, 'This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so they can worship me."
14Because this time I will send all my plagues against you personally, against your officials, and against your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15By now, I could have used my power to strike you and your people with a deadly disease, and you would have been wiped off the earth.
16But I have kept you alive for this very reason: to show you my power, and so that my name may be declared throughout the whole world.
17You are still opposing my people by refusing to let them go.
18Look! Tomorrow at about this time, I will cause a very terrible hailstorm, unlike any Egypt has seen since it was founded until now.
19So, send a command right away to bring all your livestock and everything you have in the fields into shelter. Any person or animal found in the field and not brought home will be hit by the hail and will die.'
20Those among Pharaoh's servants who respected Yahweh's word quickly brought their servants and livestock into their houses.
21But those who did not take Yahweh's word seriously left their servants and livestock in the field.
22Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail may fall over all the land of Egypt, on people, animals, and every plant in the fields throughout Egypt."
23Moses stretched his staff toward the sky, and Yahweh sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24So there was very severe hail, and lightning mixed with the hail. It was worse than anything seen in all of Egypt since it became a nation.
25The hail hit everything in the fields throughout Egypt, both people and animals. The hail also destroyed every plant and broke every tree in the fields.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived, was there no hail.
27Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time. Yahweh is right, and I and my people are wrong.
28Pray to Yahweh, because there has been enough of these powerful thunderings and hail. I will let you go, and you don’t have to stay any longer.”
29Moses said to him, “As soon as I leave the city, I will stretch out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and there will be no more hail, so you will know that the earth belongs to Yahweh.
30But as for you and your servants, I know that you still don’t fear Yahweh God.”
31The flax and barley crops were destroyed, because the barley had ripened and the flax was blooming.
32But the wheat and spelt crops were not destroyed, because they had not yet grown tall.
33Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He stretched out his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and hail stopped. Rain also stopped falling on the earth.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he sinned even more. He and his servants became stubborn again.
35Pharaoh remained stubborn and would not let the people of Israel go, just as Yahweh had said through Moses.