Episode 28: Plagues 5 through 9

(Exodus 9-10)

The fifth plague: All cattle in Egypt die

9 ¹ God said to Moses,

Go to the Pharaoh and say to him,

The God of the Hebrews says to you,

Let my people go so they can serve me.

² If you refuse, ³ I'll kill your cattle.

⁶ And the next day, God killed all the cattle in Egypt, except for the Israelites' cattle.

⁷ But the Pharaoh didn't let the Israelites go.

The sixth plague: Boils

⁸ God said to Moses and Aaron,

Take handfuls of ashes and sprinkle them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

⁹ This will cause boils and blains to break out on people and animals throughout Egypt.

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron took ashes and sprinkled them toward heaven. And boils broke out on all the people and animals in Egypt. ¹¹ The boils and blains were so bad that Pharoah's magicians couldn't stand before Moses.

¹² And God hardened the Pharaoh's heart.

The seventh plague: Hail

¹⁸ Moses said to the Pharaoh,

Tomorrow about this time I'll cause it to hail like it's never before hailed in Egypt.

Any animals or people that are in the field will be killed.

²³ So Moses stretched out his rod and God sent thunder, hail, and fire on Egypt. ²⁵ And the hail killed every person, animal, and tree that remained outside. ²⁶ (Except in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived.)

²⁷ After God's hailstorm, the Pharaoh called Moses and said to him,

I have sinned, God is righteous, and my people are wicked.

²⁸ Ask God to stop the thunder and hail, and I'll let you go.

³³ So Moses spread his hands to God, and the thunder, hail, and rain stopped.

³⁴ But the Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go.

The eighth plague: Locusts

10 ^1-2 God said to Moses,

I have hardened the Pharaoh's heart so I can show him all my signs and wonders, and so you can tell your sons and grandsons about all the things I did in Egypt. That way you'll know that I am God.

³ Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh and said to him,

This is what God says,

^4-6 If you refuse to let my people go, I'll bring locusts to cover the ground, fill all the houses, and eat every plant in Egypt. There will be more locusts than anyone has ever seen before and they'll destroy whatever has survived my previous plagues.

^10-11 The Pharaoh said, "Okay. Go with God. Take your children with you."

¹² God said to Moses,

Stretch out your hand over Egypt to bring the locusts to eat every plant in Egypt.

¹³ So Moses stretched out his hand and God brought an east wind, which blew for a day and a night.

¹⁴ The next morning, the ground was covered with locusts, who ate every plant in Egypt.

¹⁶ The Pharaoh called Moses and said,

I have sinned against your God and against you.

¹⁷ Please forgive me this once and ask God to quit killing us.

¹⁸ Moses asked God, and ¹⁹ God sent a west wind that blew away all the locusts.

But God hardened the Pharaoh's heart, so that he wouldn't let the Israelites go.

The ninth plague: Three days of darkness

²¹ God said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven to make darkness over Egypt."

²² So Moses stretched out his hand, and a thick darkness descended on Egypt for three days.

²³ It was so dark that the Egyptians couldn't see one another. But it was light in all of the Israelites' dwellings.

²⁴ The Pharaoh called Moses and said,

Go and serve God. Keep your flocks and herds here in Egypt but take your children with you.

²⁷ But then God hardened the Pharaoh's heart (again) so he wouldn't let the people go.