Struck down is the verb meaning to strike, hit, or beat. It is used twice in this verse, but some translations (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version) use “beat down” for the second clause. In the first clause everything that was in the field includes all animal life that was not under shelter. Both man and beast should be understood as “including all the people and all the animals” (Good News Translation). Throughout all the land of Egypt is the same phrase used in verses 22 and 24. In some languages it will be possible to combine the striking down of humans, animals, and crops into one sentence and translate “All over Egypt the hail struck down all the humans and animals in the open and the crops in the fields.”

Every plant of the field includes all plant life except the trees. Thus all crops in the fields, whether vegetable or cereal, plus all flowers, grass, and weeds, were all struck down by the hail. A different verb, meaning to smash or shatter, is used for the “trees.” So the hail … shattered every tree of the field. New American Bible uses “splintered,” New International Version uses “stripped,” Contemporary English Version has “bark was stripped from,” and Good News Translation uses “broke.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .