Section 32 of 1279:13–35Exodus

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King James VersionExodus 9:13–35

And 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.

For 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.

For 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.

And 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.

As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

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.

Send 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.

He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:

And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

And 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.

And 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.

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.

And 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.

Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

And 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.

Intreat 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.

And 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.

But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.

And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.

But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.

And 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.

And 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.

And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Exodus 9:13–35

Hail, Warning, Partial Fear, and Renewed Refusal

All my plagues, my name, and a warning that can be heeded

Moses is to stand before Pharaoh and say that this time God will send all his plagues on heart, servants, and people, so that Pharaoh may know there is none like the LORD in all the earth. Pharaoh has been raised up so that God's power may be shown and his name declared. Hail is announced, worse than any in Egypt's history.

Then comes an unusual mercy inside the judgment: send now, gather cattle and all in the field; every man and beast left out will die. Some of Pharaoh's servants fear the word of the LORD and bring in servants and cattle. Others disregard the word and leave them in the field.

Goshen is spared; confession lasts until the thunder stops

Hail and fire fall on man, beast, herb, and tree, except in Goshen. Pharaoh says he has sinned; the LORD is righteous; he and his people are wicked. He asks for prayer and promises to let them go. Moses knows they do not yet fear God, but he spreads his hands and the storm ceases. Flax and barley are ruined; wheat and rye are later.

When rain, hail, and thunder stop, Pharaoh sins yet more, he and his servants, and will not let Israel go. A warning that allowed shelter proves that some Egyptians could respond. The king's confession under thunder is not yet a kept word.

How this should shape us

When a warning can still save people and animals, publish it plainly and shelter whoever will come in. After the storm, do not trust a confession that only lasted as long as the noise, and do not treat those who died exposed as if they were the king's equal in decision.

Teach it back

Explain Exodus 9:13–35 in your own words. Include both movements, its place in Exodus, one historical or compositional uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one conclusion the complete context rules out.

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

Best judgment: Careful interpreters agree that the received text states the following: The hail speech explains preserved life and proclaimed name, permits Egyptians who fear the warning to shelter servants and animals, devastates exposed life and crops, and ends with Pharaoh's temporary confession and renewed sin. They disagree over source layers, date, historical recovery, archaeology, Hebrew details, ritual development, legal use, and canonical relationship in different proportions; this study treats the final form directly while marking those alternatives as probable or uncertain rather than settled fact.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exodus 9:13–35, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 9:13–35

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.

NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 9:13–35

The Plagues Study Guide

Supports: Canonical plague sequence, composite details, Pharaoh negotiations, hardening, moral difficulty, Egyptian setting, and limits of naturalistic reconstruction.

Yale Bible Study, 'The Plagues,' complete study guide pp. 1–4, 'Two Sources,' 'Purpose of the Plagues,' and 'Natural Phenomena'; applied to Exodus 9:13–35

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

Supports: Distinct Hebrew hardening terms, narrative sequence, source-critical alternatives, moral agency problem, and limits of a single retributive explanation.

Frankel, 'Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart,' complete article sections on the hardening roots, Priestly and non-Priestly sequences, editorial proposals, sea notices, and traditional ethical readings; applied to Exodus 9:13–35

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: Exodus 9:13–35, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 9:13–35

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12

Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 9:13–35

Open source ↗

open university course study guide

The Plagues Study Guide

Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins

Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition

Supports: Canonical plague sequence, composite details, Pharaoh negotiations, hardening, moral difficulty, Egyptian setting, and limits of naturalistic reconstruction.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'The Plagues,' complete study guide pp. 1–4, 'Two Sources,' 'Purpose of the Plagues,' and 'Natural Phenomena'; applied to Exodus 9:13–35

Open source ↗

modern jewish scholarly source and redaction study

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

David Frankel

TheTorah.com, 2016

Supports: Distinct Hebrew hardening terms, narrative sequence, source-critical alternatives, moral agency problem, and limits of a single retributive explanation.

Exact location: Frankel, 'Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart,' complete article sections on the hardening roots, Priestly and non-Priestly sequences, editorial proposals, sea notices, and traditional ethical readings; applied to Exodus 9:13–35

Open source ↗

Exodus 9:13–35, King James Version

All my plagues, my name, and a warning that can be heeded

Goshen is spared; confession lasts until the thunder stops

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

The Plagues Study Guide

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart