14 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'The heart of Pharaoh hath been hard, he hath refused to send the people away; 15 go unto Pharaoh in the morning, lo, he is going out to the water, and thou hast stood to meet him by the edge of the River, and the rod which was turned to a serpent thou dost take in thy hand, 16 and thou hast said unto him: Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Send My people away, and they serve Me in the wilderness; and lo, thou hast not hearkened hitherto. 17 'Thus said Jehovah: By this thou knowest that I 'am' Jehovah; lo, I am smiting with the rod which 'is' in my hand, on the waters which 'are' in the River, and they have been turned to blood, 18 and the fish that 'are' in the River die, and the River hath stank, and the Egyptians have been wearied of drinking waters from the River.' 19 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand against the waters of Egypt, against their streams, against their rivers, and against their ponds, and against all their collections of waters; and they are blood—and there hath been blood in all the land of Egypt, both in 'vessels of' wood, and in 'those of' stone.' 20 And Moses and Aaron do so, as Jehovah hath commanded, and he lifteth up 'his hand' with the rod, and smiteth the waters which 'are' in the River, before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his servants, and all the waters which 'are' in the River are turned to blood, 21 and the fish which 'is' in the River hath died, and the River stinketh, and the Egyptians have not been able to drink water from the River; and the blood is in all the land of Egypt. 22 And the scribes of Egypt do so with their flashings, and the heart of Pharaoh is strong, and he hath not hearkened unto them, as Jehovah hath spoken, 23 and Pharaoh turneth and goeth in unto his house, and hath not set his heart even to this; 24 and all the Egyptians seek water round about the river to drink, for they have not been able to drink of the waters of the River.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 7:14-24
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.