1„Gå tilbage til Farao,” befalede Herren, „og sig til ham: Herren, hebræernes Gud, siger: ‚Lad mit folk rejse for at tilbede mig.’2Hvis du stadig plager dem og nægter at lade dem rejse,3vil Herren sende en pest, som vil slå jeres køer, heste, æsler, kameler, får og geder ihjel.4Men Herren vil igen gøre forskel mellem israelitterne og egypterne. Ikke et eneste af israelitternes husdyr skal dø.”5Herren satte en frist og sagde: „I morgen skal det ske!”6Den næste dag skete det, som Herren havde sagt: Alle[1] egypternes husdyr døde, men ikke et eneste af israelitternes dyr døde.7Da sendte Farao folk ud for at se efter, og de bekræftede, at ingen af israelitternes husdyr var døde. Men hans hjerte var forhærdet, og han lod stadig ikke israelitterne rejse.
Sjette katastrofe: Bylder
8Derpå sagde Herren til Moses og Aron: „Tag nogle håndfulde sod fra smelteovnen og lad Moses kaste soden op i luften, mens Farao ser på det.9Så vil der komme en støvsky over Egypten, som vil få betændelse og bylder til at bryde ud på både mennesker og dyr over hele landet.”10Så tog de sod fra ovnen og gik til Farao, og mens Farao så på det, kastede Moses soden op i luften, og både mennesker og dyr blev fulde af betændte bylder.11Troldmændene kunne ikke klare sig imod Moses eller beskytte sig imod bylderne. Betændelsen angreb dem såvel som alle andre egyptere.12Men Herren gjorde Farao endnu mere stædig, så han stadig ikke ville lade folket rejse—nøjagtig som Herren havde sagt til Moses.
Syvende katastrofe: Hagl
13Så sagde Herren til Moses: „I morgen tidlig skal du gå til Farao og sige: Herren, hebræernes Gud, siger: Lad mit folk tage af sted for at tilbede mig.14Denne gang vil jeg sende en katastrofe, der for alvor vil gå ud over dig og dine hoffolk og hele dit folk. Da skal du indse, at der ikke findes en Gud som mig i hele verden.15Jeg kunne for længst have gjort det af med dig og dit folk, så I blev udryddet fra jordens overflade,16men jeg har gjort dig til konge, fordi jeg vil demonstrere min magt på dig, og for at mit navn kan blive kendt over hele jorden.17Du tyranniserer stadig mit folk og vil ikke lade dem rejse.18Så i morgen ved denne tid vil jeg sende et haglvejr værre end nogensinde i Egyptens historie.19Sørg for, at alle husdyr og alle markarbejdere kommer indenfor i sikkerhed, for hvert eneste menneske og dyr, der ikke er under tag, vil dø i haglvejret.”20De af Faraos tjenere, som troede på, hvad Herren havde sagt, skyndte sig at få deres husdyr og slaver indendørs,21men de, som ignorerede Herrens ord, lod deres slaver og dyr blive ude på marken.22Så sagde Herren til Moses: „Løft din hånd mod himlen, så vil der falde hagl på mennesker og dyr og alle markens afgrøder over hele Egypten.”23-24Da Moses løftede sin stav mod himlen, sendte Herren et frygteligt tordenvejr. Lynene glimtede uafladeligt, og haglene faldt tungt over hele Egypten. Det var så voldsomt, at man aldrig havde oplevet noget lignende i hele Egyptens historie.25Landet lå i ruiner. Mennesker og dyr på markerne blev dræbt, træer blev splintret, markens afgrøder blev slået ned.26Kun i Goshens land, hvor israelitterne boede, faldt der ingen hagl.27Da sendte Farao i al hast bud efter Moses og Aron. „Nu indser jeg min fejl,” sagde han. „Herren har ret, og jeg og mit folk har uret.28Bed dog Herren om at standse tordenen og haglvejret. Jeres folk kan rejse med det samme.”29„Godt,” svarede Moses, „så snart jeg er ude af byen, vil jeg udrække mine hænder i bøn til Herren, og både hagl og torden vil holde op. Det skal være dig et tegn på, at Herren har al magt på jorden.30Alligevel ved jeg, at du og dine hoffolk endnu ikke er villige til at bøje jer for Gud.”31Den dag blev al hør og byg ødelagt, for katastrofen kom på en årstid, hvor byggen stod med aks og hørren i blomst.32Hvede og spelt blev ikke beskadiget, for de kommer senere.33Så forlod Moses Farao. Da han kom ud af byen, rakte han hænderne ud i bøn til Herren. Straks standsede tordenen og haglvejret, og regnen holdt op.34-35Men da Farao så, at regnen, tordenen og haglene var holdt op, fortsatte han med sit oprør. Han blev hård igen og nægtede stadig at lade israelitterne rejse—nøjagtig som Herren havde forudsagt.
1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. (2.Mos 7,16; 2.Mos 8,1)2For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,3behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. (2.Mos 7,4)4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” (2.Mos 8,22; 2.Mos 11,7)5And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”6And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. (2.Mos 9,19)7And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. (2.Mos 7,14)
The Sixth Plague: Boils
8And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.9It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” (3.Mos 13,18; 5.Mos 28,27; 2.Kong 20,7; Job 2,7; Es 38,21; Åb 16,2)10So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. (2.Mos 7,11; 2.Tim 3,9)12But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. (2.Mos 4,21)
The Seventh Plague: Hail
13Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. (2.Mos 7,15; 2.Mos 8,20)14For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself,[1] and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. (2.Mos 8,10)15For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.16But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (2.Mos 10,1; 2.Mos 11,9; 2.Mos 14,17; Salm 83,18; Ord 16,4; Es 63,12; Rom 9,17)17You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. (Neh 9,10)18Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.19Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” (2.Mos 9,4)20Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses,21but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” (Åb 16,21)23Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. (Josva 10,11; 1.Sam 12,17; Salm 18,13; Salm 78,47; Salm 105,32; Salm 148,8; Es 30,30; Ez 38,22; Åb 8,7)24There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.25The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. (Salm 78,47; Salm 105,33)26Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail. (2.Mos 8,22; 2.Mos 9,4; 2.Mos 9,6; 2.Mos 10,23; 2.Mos 11,7; 2.Mos 12,13; Es 32,18)27Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. (2.Mos 10,16; 2.Krøn 12,6; Salm 129,4; Salm 145,17; Klag 1,18; Dan 9,14)28Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” (2.Mos 8,8)29Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. (5.Mos 10,14; 1.Kong 8,22; 1.Kong 8,38; Salm 24,1; Salm 143,6; Es 1,15; 1.Kor 10,26)30But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” (Es 26,10)31(The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.32But the wheat and the emmer[2] were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.)33So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. (2.Mos 9,29)34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. (2.Mos 7,14; 1.Sam 6,6)35So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. (2.Mos 4,21)