Exodus 7:17

17 Thus says the LORD, "By this ¹you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and ²it shall turn into blood.

Exodus 7:17 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 7:17

Thus saith the Lord, in this thou shalt know that I am the
Lord
By the following instance of his power and vengeance:

behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand;
which though in the hand of Moses, ( Exodus 7:18 ) yet he being his ambassador, and representing him, is said to be in the hand of the Lord; and with this he threatens to smite

upon the waters which are in the river;
the river Nile, and the canals thereof:

and they shall be turned to blood;
and if this river was their god, it would abundantly appear that the God of the Hebrews was Jehovah, and above all gods, and particularly above theirs.

Exodus 7:17 In-Context

15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.

16 And 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 so far, you have not obeyed."

17 Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile."'"

19 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.'"

Cross References

• 1. ver. 5
• 2. Exodus 4:9; [Revelation 16:4]