Exodus 7:17

17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to 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 you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.

16 Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.

18 The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”

19 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”