Exodus 7:20

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood.

Exodus 7:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 7:20

And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded
Moses delivered the rod to Aaron, who took it and went to the water side:

and he lift up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river;
or "in that river" ^F9, the river Nile, on the brink of which Pharaoh then stood:

in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants;
his nobles and courtiers who tended him in his walk to the water; for this was done before he returned to his palace:

and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood;
not only the face of the waters looked like blood, but they were really turned into it; and not only the surface of the water, but all the water that was in the river, wherever it flowed, and as far as it flowed in the land of Egypt.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 (rayb) (en tw potamw) Sept. "in eo rivo", Junius and Tremellius, Piscator.

Exodus 7:20 In-Context

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]."

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood.

21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.