The hail fell and the lightning continued flashing through it. The hail was so severe that nothing like it had ever been seen in all the land of Egypt from the time it became a nation.
Parallel translations
- WEB So there was very severe hail, and lightning mixed with the hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
- KJV So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
- NKJV So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
- NASB So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
- NLT Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The hail was uniquely severe, mixed with fire, beyond anything in Egypt's history. The plague's magnitude marks it as a singular act of God.
Overview
The emphasis on its unprecedented severity since Egypt 'became a nation' underscores the supernatural character of the judgment. Fire mingled with hail conveys terrifying, otherworldly power. This intensification builds the pressure on Pharaoh as the plagues escalate toward their climax. It displays a God whose judgments surpass anything in human experience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Matt 24:21For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.
- Exod 9:23So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.
- Exod 10:6They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and every Egyptian—something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since the day they came into this land.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 9:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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