Exodus 7:18

18 The fish in the Nile are going to die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians won't be able to drink water from the Nile."

Exodus 7:18 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 7:18

And the fish that is in the river shall die
Their element being changed, and they not able to live in any other but water:

and the river shall stink;
with the blood, into which it should be congealed, and with the putrefied bodies of fishes floating in it:

and the Egyptians shall loath to drink of the water of the river;
the very colour of it, looking like blood, would set them against it, and create a nausea in them; or "shall be weary" ^F8, tired of drinking it in a little time, through the loathsomeness of it; or be weary in digging about it, ( Exodus 7:24 ) to get some clear water to drink of; or in seeking to find out ways and methods to cure the waters, that so they might be fit to drink of, as Jarchi interprets it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 (waln) "delassabuntur", Tigurine version, Vatablus. "Defatigabuntur", Cartwright.

Exodus 7:18 In-Context

16 Say to him, The LORD, the Hebrews' God, has sent me to you with this message: Let my people go so that they can worship me in the desert. Up to now you still haven't listened.

17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. I'm now going to hit the water of the Nile River with this rod in my hand, and it will turn into blood.

18 The fish in the Nile are going to die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians won't be able to drink water from the Nile."

19 The LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd's rod and stretch out your hand over Egypt's waters—over their rivers, their canals, their marshes, and all their bodies of water—so that they turn into blood. There will be blood all over the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.'"

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded. He raised the shepherd's rod and hit the water in the Nile in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.