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9:1  "Go back to Pharaoh," the LORD commanded Moses. "Tell him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.
9:2  If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go,
9:3  the hand of the LORD will strike all your livestock--your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats--with a deadly plague.
9:4  But the LORD will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel's animals will die!
9:5  The LORD has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.'"
9:6  And the LORD did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn't lose a single animal.
9:7  Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh's heart remained stubborn, and he still refused to let the people go.
9:8  Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches.
9:9  The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land."
9:10  So they took soot from a brick kiln and went and stood before Pharaoh. As Pharaoh watched, Moses threw the soot into the air, and boils broke out on people and animals alike.
9:11  Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.
9:12  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and just as the LORD had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen.
9:13  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.
9:14  If you don't, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
9:15  By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth.
9:16  But I have spared you for a purpose--to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.
9:17  But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go.
9:18  So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt.
9:19  Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.'"
9:20  Some of Pharaoh's officials were afraid because of what the LORD had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields.
9:21  But those who paid no attention to the word of the LORD left theirs out in the open.
9:22  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Lift your hand toward the sky so hail may fall on the people, the livestock, and all the plants throughout the land of Egypt."
9:23  So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The LORD sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt.
9:24  Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning.
9:25  It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field--people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed.
9:26  The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.
9:27  Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he confessed. "The LORD is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong.
9:28  Please beg the LORD to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We've had enough. I will let you go; you don't need to stay any longer."
9:29  "All right," Moses replied. "As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the LORD. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the earth belongs to the LORD.
9:30  But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God."
9:31  (All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding.
9:32  But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)
9:33  So Moses left Pharaoh's court and went out of the city. When he lifted his hands to the LORD, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased.
9:34  But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.
9:35  Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the LORD had predicted through Moses.