Exodus 7:17

17 Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned 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 him in the morning, behold he will go out to the waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the’bank of the river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.

16 And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.

17 Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood.

18 And the fishes that are in the river, shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.

19 The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod; and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.