Exodus Chapter 9 verse 31 Holy Bible
And the flax and the barley were smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom.
read chapter 9 in ASV
And the flax and the barley were damaged, for the barley was almost ready to be cut and the flax was in flower.
read chapter 9 in BBE
And the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
read chapter 9 in DARBY
And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
read chapter 9 in KJV
And the flax and the barley were smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
read chapter 9 in WBT
The flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom.
read chapter 9 in WEB
And the flax and the barley have been smitten, for the barley `is' budding, and the flax forming flowers,
read chapter 9 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 31. - The flax and the barley was smitten. Flax was largely cultivated by the Egyptians, who preferred linen garments to any other (Herod. 2:37), and allowed the priests to wear nothing but linen. Several kinds of flax are mentioned as grown in Egypt (Plin. H. N. 19:1); and the neighbourhood of Tanis is expressly said to have been one of the places where the flax was produced. The flax is boiled, i.e. blossoms towards the end of January or beginning of February, and the barley comes into ear about the same time, being commonly cut in March. Barley was employed largely as the food of horses, and was used also for the manufacture of beer, which was a common Egyptian beverage. A certain quantity was made by the poorer classes into bread.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(31) The flax and the barley was smitten.--Flax was grown largely in Egypt, since linen garments were very generally worn by the people, and were the necessary attire of the priests (Herod. ii. 37). Mummies also were swathed in linen bandages (Herod. ii. 86); and soldiers wore linen corselets (Herod. ii. 182, 3:47). Barley was grown as food for horses, as an element in the manufacture of beer, and as a material for an inferior kind of bread. The flax is "bolled"--i.e., forms its seed-vessel--towards the end of January or beginning of February, and the barley comes into ear about the same time. These facts fix the date of this plague, and help to fix the dates both of the earlier and the later ones.
