59 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
A Plague against Livestock
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# Chapter 9
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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.
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2. If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go,
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3. the hand of the LORD will strike all your livestock--your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats--with a deadly plague.
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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!
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5. The LORD has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.'"
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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.
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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.
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A Plague of Festering Boils
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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.
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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."
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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.
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11. Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.
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12. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and just as the LORD had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen.
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A Plague of Hail
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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.
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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.
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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.
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16. But I have spared you for a purpose--to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.
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17. But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go.
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18. So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt.
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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.'"
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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.
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21. But those who paid no attention to the word of the LORD left theirs out in the open.
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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."
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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.
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24. Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning.
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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.
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26. The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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30. But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God."
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31. (All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding.
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32. But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)
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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.
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34. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.
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35. Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the LORD had predicted through Moses.
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