The big picture
Egypt has suffered several plagues. It is the country holding Israel, God's people, in slavery. Pharaoh, its king, has made promises under pressure and broken them after relief. Moses and Aaron, God's messengers, now face him with further warnings. Livestock die, painful sores spread, and a deadly storm approaches. Some of the king's own servants begin to act on God's warning, even while Pharaoh continues to resist the release of the people.
In this chapter
- Egyptian Livestock Die from Disease Exodus 9:1-7
The LORD requires Moses to demand Israel's release again.
- Painful Boils Reach the Magicians Exodus 9:8-12
The brothers must take furnace ashes.
- A Warning Offers Shelter from Hail Exodus 9:13-21
God sends an early warning through Moses: Pharaoh must release his people.
- Hail Breaks Trees and Crops Exodus 9:22-26
Moses stretches his rod toward the sky, and God sends thunder, hail, and fire running along the ground.
- Pharaoh Confesses Then Refuses Release Exodus 9:27-35
Pharaoh calls the brothers and admits that he and his people are wrong while the LORD is right.
Central truth
The plagues strike animals, bodies, and fields, while Pharaoh keeps resisting despite clear warnings and opportunities to protect life.
Scripture beside the summary
Exodus · King James Version · 35Exodus 9:1-7
Egyptian Livestock Die from Disease
The LORD requires Moses to demand Israel's release again. If Pharaoh keeps holding them, a severe disease will strike livestock in the fields. Horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep are named. Israel's animals will be spared, and God sets the plague for the next day. It happens as announced. Pharaoh sends to check and learns that none of the Israelites' livestock has died. The distinction is not hidden from him. Even with this confirmation, his heart stays hard and he refuses to release the people.
In everyday life
A livestock inspector places two sets of test results before a livestock dealer. One group is diseased; the protected herd remains clear. He sends an assistant to check the records, then dismisses the confirmed result because it challenges his decision. Verification changes nothing in his conduct. Unlike the inspector, Moses announces both the disease and the protected herd before either result occurs.
Notice
Exodus 9:7 Pharaoh checks the Israelites' livestock for himself through messengers. His refusal follows confirmed evidence that the promised distinction actually occurred.
Exodus 9:1-7
King James Version1Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
3Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.
4And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel.
5And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
6And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
7And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
Exodus 9:8-12
Painful Boils Reach the Magicians
The brothers must take furnace ashes. Moses throws them toward the sky in Pharaoh's sight. The ashes become fine dust, and painful boils break out on people and animals throughout Egypt. The magicians cannot stand before Moses because they too are covered in sores. They no longer appear as rivals performing signs; they suffer with everyone else. The LORD hardens Pharaoh's heart, and the king does not listen. Bodily pain reaches his specialists without bringing a change in his answer to God's messengers.
In everyday life
A rink marshal reaches the ice to guide skaters out after a cooling system leak. The fumes make him ill as well. His assistant leads him to the exit with the others. Knowing the building does not shield his body from its danger. Egypt's boils come through God's announced act, rather than a faulty cooling system.
Notice
Exodus 9:11 The magicians are unable even to stand before Moses. Their position has changed from copying signs to sharing the suffering they cannot prevent.
Exodus 9:8-12
King James Version8And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
10And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
12And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.
Exodus 9:13-21
A Warning Offers Shelter from Hail
God sends an early warning through Moses: Pharaoh must release his people. God could have destroyed him already, but his continued place will make God's power known. An unmatched hailstorm will come the next day. Moses tells Pharaoh to house his workers and animals before the hail kills them. Servants who fear God heed this warning and take shelter. Others leave them in the fields. The warning makes room for a response before the blow falls, even among Egyptians serving the king.
In everyday life
Several stable hands hear a severe storm alert crackle over the radio. One immediately brings the horses and staff indoors; another leaves the gates open and carries on. The same warning reaches both, but only one changes the afternoon's work. Shelter depends on taking the message seriously. Moses' warning names God's judgment, not a weather service's forecast.
Notice
Exodus 9:20 Some of Pharaoh's servants fear the LORD's word enough to act. The Egyptian response is not uniform, even within the king's own service.
Exodus 9:13-21
King James Version13And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
16And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
18Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
19Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
20He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
21And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
Exodus 9:22-26
Hail Breaks Trees and Crops
Moses stretches his rod toward the sky, and God sends thunder, hail, and fire running along the ground. Egypt has known no storm like it as a nation. Everything exposed in the fields is struck: people, animals, plants, and trees. The warning's danger becomes a devastating reality. Goshen, where Israel lives, receives no hail. The account does not treat the destruction as empty theatre. Lives and food supplies are at stake. The spared region again makes a visible difference between Egypt under judgment and the people God intends to bring out.
In everyday life
The flower growers stand behind a shelter window as hail crushes tulips across the valley. They count empty spaces where colleagues have taken cover and wait for news from exposed farms. The flattened rows mean lost sales and wages. An ordinary storm has no announced boundary protecting a people as Goshen is protected here.
Notice
Exodus 9:26 The brief report that Goshen has no hail stands beside widespread destruction. God's earlier promise of a distinction remains visible as the plagues grow worse.
Exodus 9:22-26
King James Version22And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24So 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.
25And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
Exodus 9:27-35
Pharaoh Confesses Then Refuses Release
Pharaoh calls the brothers and admits that he and his people are wrong while the LORD is right. He asks Moses to pray and promises release. Moses agrees to pray outside the city but says the king and his servants still do not fear God. The storm has destroyed flax and barley; later-growing wheat and rye survive. Moses spreads his hands in prayer, and the storm stops. Pharaoh and his servants then harden their hearts again. His spoken admission does not become obedience when the danger passes.
In everyday life
An uninsured motorist admits fault at the roadside and promises to pay for repairs. Once a recovery truck removes his damaged car and the crowd disperses, he stops answering the other driver's calls. His words were clear while the pressure lasted. The repair promise now reveals its weakness. Pharaoh's confession concerns sin against God and the freedom of slaves.
Notice
Exodus 9:32 Some crops remain because they have not grown up yet. The land is badly damaged, but the account carefully leaves food still vulnerable to further loss.
Exodus 9:27-35
King James Version27And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
28Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
29And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’s.
30But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.
31And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
32But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.
33And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.
34And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Exodus 9:1 begins with “Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.”
Where the chapter turns
Exodus 9:18 forms a natural hinge: “Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.”
The final note
Exodus 9:35 leaves the reader with “And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, hail, Moses, Pharaoh, Egypt, cattle help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- murrain
- A severe disease affecting livestock and causing many animals to die.
- blains
- Painful swellings or blisters on the skin, accompanying the boils.
- bolled
- Developed into heads or buds, describing the flax's stage of growth.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
