The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, p“Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says qthe Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, rthe 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. 4 sBut 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.”’” 5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did this thing. tAll the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But uthe heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
The Sixth Plague: Boils
8 And 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. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become vboils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So 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. 11 And wthe magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 xBut the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as ythe Lord had spoken to Moses.
The Seventh Plague: Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, z“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. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself,1 and on your servants and your people, so athat you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For 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. 16 bBut for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so cthat my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 dYou are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Behold, 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. 19 Now therefore send, eget 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.”’” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be fhail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the gLord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There 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. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail hstruck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 iOnly in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time jI have sinned; the kLord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 lPlead 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.”
How Lonely Sits the City
1 aHow lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like ba widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was ca princess among the provinces
has become da slave.
2 eShe weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
famong all her lovers
she has gnone to comfort her;
hall her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
3 iJudah has gone into exile because of affliction1
and hard servitude;
jshe dwells now among the nations,
kbut finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.2
4 The roads to Zion mourn,
for none come to lthe festival;
mall her gates are desolate;
her priests ngroan;
her virgins have been afflicted,3
and she herself suffers bitterly.
5 oHer foes have become the head;
her penemies prosper,
because qthe Lord has afflicted her
rfor the multitude of her transgressions;
sher children have gone away,
captives before the foe.
6 From the daughter of Zion
all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
tthat find no pasture;
they fled without strength
before the pursuer.
7 Jerusalem remembers
in the days of her affliction and wandering
uall the precious things
that were hers from vdays of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
they wmocked at her downfall.
8 xJerusalem sinned grievously;
therefore she became filthy;
all who honored her despise her,
yfor they have seen her nakedness;
she herself zgroans
and turns her face away.
9 Her uncleanness was ain her skirts;
bshe took no thought of her future;4
therefore her fall is terrible;
cshe has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
for the enemy has dtriumphed!”
10 The enemy has stretched out his hands
over all her eprecious things;
for she has seen fthe nations
enter her sanctuary,
those whom you gforbade
to enter your congregation.
11 All her people zgroan
as hthey search for bread;
they trade their etreasures for ifood
to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
for I am despised.”
12 “Is it nothing to you, all jyou who pass by?
kLook and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which lthe Lord inflicted
on mthe day of his fierce anger.
13 “From on high he nsent fire;
into my bones5 he made it descend;
ohe spread a net for my feet;
he turned me back;
phe has left me stunned,
faint all the day long.
14 “My transgressions were bound6 into qa yoke;
by his hand they were fastened together;
they were set upon my neck;
he caused my strength to fail;
the Lord gave me into the hands
of those whom I cannot withstand.
15 “The Lord rejected
all my mighty men in my midst;
he summoned an assembly against me
to crush my young men;
rthe Lord has trodden as in a winepress
the virgin daughter of Judah.
16 “For these things sI weep;
my eyes flow with tears;
for ta comforter is far from me,
one to urevive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
for the enemy has prevailed.”
17 vZion stretches out her hands,
but tthere is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
a filthy thing among them.
18 w“The Lord is in the right,
xfor I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
and see my suffering;
ymy young women and my young men
have gone into captivity.
19 “I called to zmy lovers,
but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
perished in the city,
while athey sought food
to revive their strength.
20 “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
bmy stomach churns;
my heart is wrung within me,
because I have been very rebellious.
cIn the street the sword bereaves;
in the house it is like death.
yet ethere is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
fthey are glad that you have done it.
You have brought8 the day you announced;
fnow let them be as I am.
22 g“Let all their evildoing come before you,
and deal with them
as hyou have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions;
for dmy groans are many,
and imy heart is faint.”
Warning Against Neglecting Salvation
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since athe message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and bevery transgression or disobedience received a just cretribution, 3 dhow shall we escape if we eneglect such a great salvation? It was fdeclared at first by the Lord, and it was gattested to us hby those who heard, 4 gwhile God also bore witness iby signs and wonders and various miracles and by jgifts of the Holy Spirit kdistributed according to his will.
The Founder of Salvation
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world lto come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,
m“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,1
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, nwe do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him owho for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, pcrowned with glory and honor qbecause of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might rtaste death sfor everyone.
10 For it twas fitting that he, ufor whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons vto glory, should make the wfounder of their salvation xperfect through suffering. 11 For yhe who sanctifies and zthose who are sanctified aall have one source.2 That is why he is not ashamed to call them bbrothers,3 12 saying,
c“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the dcongregation I will sing your praise.”
13 And again,
e“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise hpartook of the same things, that ithrough death he might jdestroy kthe one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who lthrough fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he mhelps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had nto be made like his brothers in every respect, oso that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest pin the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered qwhen tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
