Exodus 7:20

Exodus 7:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
• New International Version (NIV)Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

Context of Exodus 7:20

18The fish in the river will die, and the river will have a very bad smell. Then the Egyptians will not be able to drink the water from the Nile river.” ’ 19Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Take your stick. Lift up your hand over the waters of Egypt. Lift your stick up over their rivers and their streams. Lift it up over their lakes and pools of water. Do that so that all the water becomes blood.” There will be blood in every part of Egypt. There will even be blood in their buckets and bowls.’ Moses and Aaron obeyed the command of the Lord. Aaron lifted up the stick in front of Pharaoh and his servants. He hit the water in the Nile river with the stick. Then all the water in the river became blood. 21The fish in the river died. The river had such a bad smell that the Egyptians could not drink its water. There was blood in every part of Egypt. 22But the Egyptian magicians used their magic and they did the same thing. So Pharaoh's mind continued to be hard. He still refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. The Lord had said that this would happen, and it did!

Exodus 7:20 word by word

וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ־כֵן֩ מֹשֶׁ֨ה וְאַהֲרֹ֜ן כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר׀ צִוָּ֣ה יְהוָ֗ה וַיָּ֤רֶם בַּמַּטֶּה֙ וַיַּ֤ךְ אֶת־הַמַּ֙יִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּיְאֹ֔ר לְעֵינֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה וּלְעֵינֵ֖י עֲבָדָ֑יו וַיֵּהָֽפְכ֛וּ כָּל־הַמַּ֥יִם אֲשֶׁר־בַּיְאֹ֖ר לְדָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• and Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• so, as the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• and he lifted upרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
• the rodמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: rodH4294
• and smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• in the riverיְאֹרye'ôr · NileH2975
• in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• of Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• of his servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• were turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• to bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818

Cross-references for Exodus 7:20

• Exodus 17:5The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take some of the leaders of the Israelites with you and go in front of the people. Take your stick in your hand. Take the stick that you used to hit the Nile river. Now go!
• Numbers 20:8‘Get the stick. Take your brother Aaron with you and go to the whole group of the Israelites. Then speak to that rock that you can all see. Water will pour out from it. Then the people and their animals can drink it.’
• Genesis 7:17For 40 days, the water on the earth became deeper. The water lifted the ship high above the ground.
• Psalms 78:44He caused the Egyptians' rivers to become blood, so that they could not drink water from them.
• Psalms 105:29God caused their rivers to become blood, and he killed their fish.
• John 2:9The master of the party tasted the water. The water had now become wine! The master did not know where the wine had come from. But the servants who had given it to him knew about it. Then the master asked the new husband to come to him.
• Revelation 8:8Then the second angel made a sound with his trumpet. I saw something like a very big mountain that was burning with fire. This mountain fell down into the sea. A third of the sea became blood.

Commentaries on Exodus 7:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20All the waters - were turned to blood - Not merely in appearance, but in reality; for these changed waters became corrupt and insalubrious, so that even the fish that were in the river died; and the smell became highly offensive, so that the waters could not be drank; Exodus 7:21.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-25Verses 14-25 Here is the first of the ten plagues, the turning of the water into blood. It was a dreadful plague. The sight of such vast rolling streams of blood could not but strike horror. Nothing is more common than water: so wisely has Providence ordered it, and so kindly, that what is so needful and serviceable to the comfort of human life, should be cheap and almost every where to be had; but now the Egyptians must either drink blood, or die for…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-25The first plague was the plague on the Nile, when the whole river turned to blood (7:20). The Egyptians correctly understood that without the Nile there would be no life in Egypt. They worshiped the Nile as the Mother of Egypt, but God showed that life is his to give or withhold.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-2117-21. Aaron lifted up the rod and smote the waters, &c.--Whether the water was changed into real blood, or only the appearance of it (and Omnipotence could effect the one as easily as the other), this was a severe calamity. How great must have been the disappointment and disgust throughout the land when the river became of a blood red color, of which they had a national abhorrence; their favorite beverage became a nauseous draught, and the fish, which…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 7:20

• Blood
• Plague

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Moses
• Pharaoh
• Euphrates River, the River
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Die
• Enchantment
• Multiply
• Plague
• Prophet

Commentaries on Exodus 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings