Exodus 7:17

17 This is what the Lord says: Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. Watch. I will strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, 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. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.

16 Tell 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 so far you have not listened.

17 This is what the Lord says: Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. Watch. I will strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, 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 water from it."

19 So the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt-over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs-and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone [containers]."