Death of the Animals, Boils, and Hail

Genesis 9

Then
the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, ''This is what the
Lord God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to worship me. If you refuse to
let them go and continue to hold them in slavery, the Lord will bring a terrible plague on
your livestock, including your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and
goats. But
the Lord will distinguish between Israel''s livestock and the livestock of the
Egyptians. No animals belonging to the Israelites will die.''" The Lord set a
definite time. He said, "Tomorrow I will do this." The next day the
Lord did as he said. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but none of the
Israelites'' animals died. Pharaoh
found out that not one of the Israelites'' animals had died. Yet, Pharaoh
continued to be stubborn and would not let the people go.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
"Take a handful of ashes from a kiln, and have Moses throw them up in the
air as Pharaoh watches. They
will become a fine dust throughout Egypt. The dust will cause boils to break
into open sores on people and animals throughout Egypt." They took ashes
from a kiln and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes up in the air,
and they caused boils to break into open sores on people and animals. The magicians
couldn''t compete with Moses because they had boils like all the other
Egyptians. But
the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he wouldn''t listen to Moses and Aaron, as
the Lord had predicted to Moses.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Early
in the morning, go to Pharaoh and say to him, ''This is what the Lord God of the
Hebrews says: Let my people go to worship me. Now I will send plagues that will affect
you personally as well as your officials and people. This is how you will know
that there is no one like me anywhere on earth. By now I could have used my power to kill
you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I
have spared you for this reason. I want to show you my power and make my name
famous throughout the earth. You are still blocking my people from
leaving. So,
at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever happened in
Egypt since the beginning of its history. Now, send servants to bring your
livestock and everything else you have indoors. All people and animals still
outside and not brought in will die when the hail falls on them.''" Those members
of Pharaoh''s court who listened to the Lord''s warning brought their servants
and cattle indoors quickly. But those who didn''t take the Lord''s
warning seriously left their servants and animals out in the open.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Lift
your hand toward the sky, and hail will fall on people, animals, and every
plant in the fields of Egypt." When Moses lifted his staff toward the
sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the
Lord made it hail on Egypt. It hailed, and lightning flashed while it
hailed. This was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a
nation. All
over Egypt the hail knocked down everything that was out in the open. It struck
down people, animals, and every plant in the fields and destroyed every tree in
the fields. The
only place it didn''t hail was the region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived. Then
Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he told
them. "The Lord is right, and my people and I are wrong. Pray to the
Lord. We''ve had enough of God''s thunder and hail. I''ll let you go; you don''t
have to stay here any longer." Moses replied, "As soon as I''m out
of the city, I''ll spread out my hands to the Lord in prayer. The thunder wilThis is how you will know that the earth
belongs to the Lord. But
I know that you and your officials still don''t fear the Lord God." The flax and
the barley were ruined, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was in
bloom. Neither
the wheat nor the wild grain was damaged, because they ripen later. As soon as he
left Pharaoh and went out of the city, Moses spread out his hands to the Lord
in prayer. The thunder and the hail stopped, and no more rain came pouring down
on the ground. When
Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had stopped, he sinned
again. He and his officials continued to be stubborn. Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let
the Israelites go, as the Lord had predicted through Moses.