1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go to the king and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God we Hebrews worship, says: “Allow my people to go, in order that they may worship me. 2 If you still keep refusing to let them go [DOU], 3 I warn you that I will punish you with my power [MTY] by sending a terrible disease on all your animals—on your horses, donkeys, camels, on your cattle, and on your flocks of sheep and goats. 4 But I, Yahweh, will distinguish between what I do to the animals that belong to the Israeli people and what I do to your animals. The result will be that no animal that belongs to the Israeli people will die.” ’ 5 Tell him that I have determined/decided that tomorrow is the day that I will do this in this land.”

6 The next day Yahweh did just what he said that he would do. A terrible disease afflicted all of the Egyptians’ animals, and many of them [HYP] died. But none of the Israeli people’s animals died. 7 The king sent men to investigate, and they were surprised to see that none of the Israeli people’s animals had died. But after they reported that to the king, he continued to be stubborn [IDM], and he did not let the Israeli people go.

8 Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, “Take a few handfuls of ashes/soot from ◄a furnace/an oven where they burn lime►, and let Moses throw them up into the air, in front of the king. 9 The ashes/soot will spread all over the country of Egypt like fine dust. And the ashes/soot will cause boils to afflict both the Egyptian people and their animals, all over the land.” 10 So they/we both got some ashes/soot and went and stood in front of the king. Moses/I threw the ashes/soot up into the air. The ashes/soot spread all over, causing boils to afflict the Egyptian people and their animals. All the boils became open sores. 11 Even the men who worked magic had boils. The result was that they were suffering so much that they were not able to come to Moses/me, because the men who worked magic had boils just like all the rest of the Egyptian people. 12 But Yahweh caused the king to continue to be stubborn [IDM]. He did not pay any attention to what they/we said, just as Yahweh had told Moses/me would happen.

13 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early tomorrow morning. Go and stand in front of the king and tell him that Yahweh God, the one that the Hebrew people worship, says this: ‘Let my people go, in order that they may worship me in the desert. 14 If you do not let them go, this time I will punish with plagues not only your officials and the rest of your people, but I will punish you yourself [SYN], in order that you will know there is no god like me anywhere in the world. 15 By this time I could have used my power [MTY] to strike you and your people with terrible diseases that would have wiped you all from the earth. 16 But I have let you live. The reason I have let you live is to show you my power, with the result that people all over the earth [HYP] will know how great I [MTY] am. 17 You are still acting proudly and refusing to let my people go. 18 So listen to this: About this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall in Egypt. From the time Egypt first became a country, there has never been a hailstorm as bad as this one will be. 19 So you should send a message to everyone to put their cattle, and everything else that they own that is out in the fields, under shelters. The hail will fall on every person and every animal that is out in the fields and that is not put under a shelter, and they will all die.’ ” So Moses/I did what Yahweh said.

20 Some of the king’s officials who heard what Yahweh had said became very afraid. So they put all their animals and their slaves under shelters. 21 But those who did not pay any attention to what Yahweh had said left their slaves and their animals in the fields. 22 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Raise your hand up toward the sky, in order that hail will fall all over the land of Egypt—on the people and on their animals and on all the plants in the fields.” 23 So Moses/I lifted his/my stick up toward the sky. And Yahweh sent down hail, all over the land of Egypt. There was also thunder and lightning. 24 While very heavy hail was falling, there was thunder, and lightning struck the ground. There had never been a hailstorm like that since Egypt first became a country. 25 The hail struck everything that was in the fields all over Egypt—every person and every animal. The hail destroyed the plants in the fields and stripped the leaves off the trees. 26 Only in the Goshen region, where the Israeli people were living, was there no hail.

27 Then the king sent someone to summon Aaron and Moses/me. When they/we came to the king, he said to them/us, “This time I admit that I have sinned. What Yahweh has done is right, and what I and my people have done is wrong. 28 ◄Pray to/Plead with► Yahweh to cause it to stop! We cannot endure any more of this thunder and hail! I will let your people go; they do not have to stay here in Egypt any longer.”

29 Moses/I replied, “As soon as I go out of this city, I will lift up my hands and pray to Yahweh. Then the thunder will cease, and no more hail will fall. This will happen in order that you will know that Yahweh, not your gods, controls everything that happens on the earth. 30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear Yahweh God.”

31 When the hail fell, the flax was ruined because the buds were forming, and the barley was ruined because its grain was ripe. 32 But none of the wheat crops was ruined, because their shoots were still very small.

33 So Moses/I left the king and went outside the city. He/I lifted up his/my hands toward Yahweh and prayed. Then the thunder and the hail stopped, and the rain also stopped falling on the land of Egypt. 34 But when the king saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials continued to be stubborn [IDM]. 35 So, just as Yahweh had predicted by what he told Moses/me, the king did not allow the Israeli people to leave.

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