Exodus 7:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’"

NIV: The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone."

NASB: Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’?'

CSB: So the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs—and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers."

NLT: Then the Lord said to Moses: 'Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt — all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’'

KJV: And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

NKJV: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ”

From the very beginning of his call (Exodus 3:4–6), Moses expressed self-doubt (Exodus 4:10, 13). God appointed Moses' brother, Aaron, to be the official public speaker of the mission (Exodus 4:14–16). Here, Aaron acts according to the Lord's directions as passed down through Moses. This, in turn, is a response to Pharaoh's stubborn refusal (Exodus 7:14) to release the Israelites from slavery (Exodus 1:11–14; 5:1–4). God will demonstrate His authority by turning all water into blood (Exodus 7:17).

This verse notes that this first plague (Exodus 3:19–20) will affect more than just the waters of the Nile River. Reservoirs, streams, irrigation canals, and ponds will be corrupted. Even water in manmade vessels such as jars and bowls will be transformed. That wide influence supports the Lord's message in several ways. It will leave the Egyptians no choice but to scrabble for water (Exodus 7:24–25). It removes any room to excuse pollution of a single source as nothing more than human sabotage. The same detail also complicates the theory that God used a natural phenomenon to change the color and odor of the river (Exodus 7:21).

As with turning staves into snakes (Exodus 7:8–11), Egyptian court magicians will convince their king that they can do the same thing (Exodus 7:22). Whether this is by actual supernatural power, or stage magic, the result will be the same: Pharaoh will remain obstinate (Exodus 7:23).

Exodus 7:14–25 records the first of the ten great plagues on Egypt (Exodus 3:19–20). Because Pharaoh has refused to free Israel (Exodus 1:11–14), the Lord turns all the water in Egypt—including the Nile, ponds, and artificial pools—into blood. This creates an unsanitary, foul situation. The Egyptians are forced to dig for water. When Egyptian magicians are able to turn water into blood, Pharaoh remains resistant. This terrible plague lasts for an entire week.

God again repeats (Exodus 3:19–20; 4:19–23; 6:6) the basic outline of how Israel will be freed from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1:11–14). He then commands Moses and Aaron to show Pharaoh one of the miraculous signs given for that purpose (Exodus 4:2–5). Egyptian magicians seem to duplicate the feat, so Pharaoh still refuses to hear Mo-ses' message. This results in the first plague: all water in Egypt, including the Nile river, becomes blood. This lasts seven days. The Lord then tells Moses to repeat the demand for Israel's release.

God commissioned Moses (Exodus 3:10) and commanded him to confront Egypt's ruler, the pharaoh (Exodus 4:19–23). When Moses obeyed (Exodus 5:1–3), the immediate result was even worse oppression for Israel (Exodus 5:19–21). This inspired Moses to doubt (Exodus 5:22–23). The Lord responded with reassurances (Exodus 6:1–8). Chapter 7 completes this declaration and begins the cycle of plagues (Exodus 3:19–20), starting with turning the Nile river into blood. These catastrophes will continue (Exodus 8—11) until Pharaoh finally releases the Israelites (Exodus 12:41).