The Lord told Moses to once more confront Pharaoh with His command: "Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. If you refuse, I will strike your livestock in the fields—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a severe plague. But I will make a distinction between the animals of Israel and those of Egypt, so that not one belonging to My people will die." The Lord set the next day for this judgment, and it happened just as He said. All the livestock of the Egyptians perished, yet the animals of Israel were unharmed. Pharaoh sent messengers to see for himself, but though it was true, his heart remained hard, and he would not let the people go.
Then the Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a furnace. Moses threw it into the air before Pharaoh, and it spread like fine dust across Egypt. Painful boils broke out on people and animals alike. Even Pharaoh's magicians could not stand before Moses, for they too were covered with sores. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart again, and he would not listen.
The Lord then told Moses to rise early and stand before Pharaoh with this warning: "If you do not let My people go, I will unleash the full force of My plagues, so that you may know there is no one like Me in all the earth. I could have wiped you out completely, but I raised you up to display My power and to proclaim My name throughout the earth. Because you still oppose My people, tomorrow I will send the most devastating hailstorm Egypt has ever known. Bring your servants and livestock indoors, for all who remain in the fields will die."
Some of Pharaoh's officials feared the word of the Lord and hurried to shelter their slaves and animals. Others ignored the warning and left them exposed.
At the Lord's command, Moses stretched his staff toward the sky, and the storm came. Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and hail fell with fury across Egypt. Crops were struck down, trees shattered, and men and animals in the open fields were killed. Only in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, did the storm not fall.
Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he confessed. "The Lord is right, and my people and I are wrong. Pray to the Lord to end this thunder and hail, and I will let you go."
Moses answered, "I will pray when I leave the city, and the storm will cease, so that you may know the earth belongs to the Lord. But I know you and your officials still do not fear Him." The flax and barley crops had already been destroyed by the storm, though wheat and spelt were spared because they ripened later.
Moses left the city, stretched out his hands in prayer, and the thunder, hail, and rain stopped at once. Yet when Pharaoh saw that the storm was over, he hardened his heart again, as did his officials. He refused to let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.