14 Then the Lord said to Moses , "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn ; he refuses to let the people go . 15 "Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water , and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile ; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent . 16 " You shall say to him, 'The Lord , the God of the Hebrews , sent me to you, saying , " Let My people go , that they may serve Me in the wilderness . But behold , you have not listened until now ." 17 'Thus says the Lord , " By this you shall know that I am the Lord : behold , I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand , and it will be turned to blood . 18 " The fish that are in the Nile will die , and the Nile will become foul , and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile .""' 19 Then the Lord said to Moses , "Say to Aaron , 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt , over their rivers , over their streams , and over their pools , and over all their reservoirs of water , that they may become blood ; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt , both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone .' " 20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded . And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile , in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants , and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood . 21 The fish that were in the Nile died , and the Nile became foul , so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile . And the blood was through all the land of Egypt . 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts ; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened , and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said . 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern e even for this . 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink , for they could not drink of the water of the Nile .
25 Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 7:14-25
Commentary on Exodus 7:14-25
(Read Exodus 7:14-25)
Here is the first of the ten plagues, the turning of the water into blood. It was a dreadful plague. The sight of such vast rolling streams of blood could not but strike horror. Nothing is more common than water: so wisely has Providence ordered it, and so kindly, that what is so needful and serviceable to the comfort of human life, should be cheap and almost every where to be had; but now the Egyptians must either drink blood, or die for thirst. Egypt was a pleasant land, but the dead fish and blood now rendered it very unpleasant. It was a righteous plague, and justly sent upon the Egyptians; for Nile, the river of Egypt, was their idol. That creature which we idolize, God justly takes from us, or makes bitter to us. They had stained the river with the blood of the Hebrews' children, and now God made that river all blood. Never any thirsted after blood, but sooner or later they had enough of it. It was a significant plague; Egypt had great dependence upon their river, Zechariah 14:18; so that in smiting the river, they were warned of the destruction of all the produce of their country. The love of Christ to his disciples changes all their common mercies into spiritual blessings; the anger of God towards his enemies, renders their most valued advantages a curse and a misery to them. Aaron is to summon the plague by smiting the river with his rod. It was done in the sight of Pharaoh and his attendants, for God's true miracles were not performed as Satan's lying wonders; truth seeks no corners. See the almighty power of God. Every creature is that to us which he makes it to be water or blood. See what changes we may meet with in the things of this world; what is always vain, may soon become vexatious. See what mischievous work sin makes. If the things that have been our comforts prove our crosses, we must thank ourselves. It is sin that turns our waters into blood. The plague continued seven days; and in all that time Pharaoh's proud heart would not let him desire Moses to pray for the removal of it. Thus the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. No wonder that God's anger is not turned away, but that his hand is stretched out still.