Exodus 9

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¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. ✦ ²For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, ✦ ³behold, the hand of the Lord will come with a very severe plague on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. ✦ ⁴But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.” ’ ” ✦ ⁵And the Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” ✦ ⁶So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died. ✦ ⁷And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. ✦ ⁸Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses shall toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. ✦ ⁹Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal through all the land of Egypt.” ✦ ¹⁰So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal. ✦ ¹¹The soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians. ✦ ¹²But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses. ✦ ¹³Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. ✦ ¹⁴For this time I am going to send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. ✦ ¹⁵For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth. ✦ ¹⁶But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth. ✦ ¹⁷Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go. ✦ ¹⁸Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. ✦ ¹⁹So now, send word, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.” ’ ” ✦ ²⁰Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses; ✦ ²¹but everyone who did not pay regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field. ✦ ²²Now the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ✦ ²³So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ✦ ²⁴So 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. ✦ ²⁵The hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field. ✦ ²⁶Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail. ✦ ²⁷Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. ✦ ²⁸Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” ✦ ²⁹Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. ✦ ³⁰But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” ✦ ³¹(Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. ✦ ³²But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.) ✦ ³³So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain no longer poured on the earth. ✦ ³⁴But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. ✦ ³⁵So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Exod 8 ·18 Exod 9 ·15 Exod 10 ·10 Exod 7 ·8 Rev 16 ·7 Lev 26 ·6 Deut 28 ·5 Exod 4 ·5

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical
Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.
DocumentaryPatterns of Evidence: The ExodusTim Mahoney · Paid · evangelical
Investigates the archaeological evidence for the Exodus. Note: it advances a minority biblical chronology that mainstream scholars dispute — engaging, but weigh its conclusions critically.

Pastoral

★ Start hereCommentaryExodus (New American Commentary)Douglas K. Stuart · Paid · evangelical
The best evangelical, semi-technical commentary on Exodus — accessible to pastors and serious students.
DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical
Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 9YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Exodus 9David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Exodus 9Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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