1. The Lord sent Moses with this message for the king of Egypt:The Lord God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can worship him.
2. If you keep refusing,
3. he will bring a terrible disease on your horses and donkeys, your camels and cattle, and your sheep and goats.
4. But the Lord will protect the animals that belong to the people of Israel, and none of theirs will die.
5. Tomorrow is the day the Lord has set to do this.
6. It happened the next day—all the animals belonging to the Egyptians died, but the Israelites did not lose even one.
7. When the king found out, he was still too stubborn to let the people go.
8. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:Take a few handfuls of ashes from a stove and let Moses throw them into the air. Be sure the king is watching.