Exodus 9 · WEB
Plagues on Livestock, Boils, and Hail
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Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, 'This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2For if you refuse to let them go, and hold them still,
3behold, the hand of Yahweh is on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks with a very severe pestilence.
4Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt; and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel."'"
5Yahweh appointed a set time, saying, "Tomorrow Yahweh shall do this thing in the land."
6Yahweh did that thing on the next day; and all the livestock of Egypt died, but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died.
7Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he didn't let the people go.
8Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, "Take handfuls of ashes from the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.
9It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking out with sores on man and on animal, throughout all the land of Egypt."
10They took ashes from the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it toward the sky; and it became a boil breaking out with sores on man and on animal.
11The magicians couldn't stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
12Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
13Yahweh said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, 'This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14For this time I will send all my plagues against your heart, against your servants, and against your people; that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15For now I could have stretched out my hand, and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth;
16but indeed for this reason I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17Do you still exalt yourself against my people, that you won't let them go?
18Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now.
19Now therefore command that all of your livestock and all that you have in the field be brought into shelter. Every man and animal that is found in the field, and is not brought home, the hail shall come down on them, and they shall die."'"
20Those who feared the word of Yahweh among the servants of Pharaoh made their servants and their livestock flee into the houses.
21Whoever didn't respect the word of Yahweh left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt."
23Moses stretched out his rod toward the sky, and Yahweh sent thunder, 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, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25The hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and animal; and the hail struck every plant of the field, and broke every tree of the field.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
27Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
28Pray to Pharaoh; for there has been enough of mighty thunderings and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer."
29Moses said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunders shall cease, and there will be no more hail; that you may know that the earth is Yahweh's.
30But as for you and your servants, I know that you don't yet fear Yahweh God."
31The flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bud.
32But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they had not grown up yet.
33Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to Yahweh; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he didn't let the children of Israel go, as Yahweh had spoken through Moses.
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Summary
Three more plagues strike Egypt in this chapter. The fifth — a deadly pestilence on livestock — kills all Egyptian cattle while Israel's remain alive; Pharaoh investigates and still refuses. The sixth — boils on humans and animals — disables even the magicians, who cannot appear before Moses. The seventh plague, devastating hail mixed with fire, is preceded by a warning that gives even some Egyptians a chance to protect themselves; the hail devastates crops and trees but spares Goshen. Pharaoh confesses "I have sinned" but hardens again the moment the storm passes.
Themes
- God's power over nature and human authority
- The sovereignty of God even over Pharaoh's existence — "I have made you stand"
- Incomplete repentance: confessing under pressure without genuine surrender
- The progressive revelation of Yahweh's uniqueness among the nations
Key verses
- Ex 9:16 — “Indeed for this reason I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.”
- Ex 9:20-21 — “Some Egyptians feared God's word and protected their livestock; others did not. The plagues created a division even within Egypt.”
- Ex 9:27 — “Pharaoh said… 'I have sinned this time. Yahweh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.'”
Context & background
Hail is rare in Egypt, making the seventh plague especially remarkable. The agricultural damage described — destroying flax (used for linen, a major industry), barley, and trees — would have been economically catastrophic. The detail that wheat and spelt survived (v. 32) explains why the eighth plague of locusts was still devastating: there was still a harvest left to destroy. The plague strikes throughout Egypt but spares Goshen in the northeastern Nile Delta, showing again the covenant protection of Israel's region. Paul cites Exodus 9:16 in Romans 9:17, making Pharaoh a key figure in his argument about divine sovereignty and election.
Cross-references
- Hebrews 12:29 — "Our God is a consuming fire" — the fire-and-hail plague manifests God's holy, consuming nature.
- Psalm 135:8-9 — "He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings… He sent signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt."
- Revelation 16:21 — Great hailstones fall on people in the end-time judgments, echoing the seventh plague.
- Romans 9:17 — Paul quotes Exodus 9:16 directly: God raised up Pharaoh "that I might show my power in you."