Exodus 7:21

Exodus 7:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
• New International Version (NIV)The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

Context of Exodus 7:21

19Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters – over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs – so that it becomes blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.” 20Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord had commanded. Moses raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. When the fish that were in the Nile died, the Nile began to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood everywhere in the land of Egypt! 22But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts, and so Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron – just as the Lord had predicted. 23And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not pay any attention to this.

Exodus 7:21 word by word

וְהַדָּגָ֨ה אֲשֶׁר־בַּיְאֹ֥ר מֵ֙תָה֙ וַיִּבְאַ֣שׁ הַיְאֹ֔ר וְלֹא־יָכְל֣וּ מִצְרַ֔יִם לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת מַ֖יִם מִן־הַיְאֹ֑ר וַיְהִ֥י הַדָּ֖ם בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the fishדָּגָהdâgâh · fishH1710
• in the riverיְאֹרye'ôr · NileH2975
• diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• stankבָּאַשׁbâ'ash · to stinkH887
• and the Egyptiansמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• not drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• of the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• and there was bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• throughout all the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714

Cross-references for Exodus 7:21

• Exodus 7:18Fish in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’”
• Revelation 8:9and a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed.

Commentaries on Exodus 7:21

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21The fish … - The Egyptians subsisted to a great extent on the fish of the Nile, though salt-water fish were regarded as impure. A mortality among the fish was a plague that was much dreaded.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 7:21

• Blood
• Plague

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Euphrates River, the River
• Die
• Enchantment
• Multiply
• Plague
• Prophet
• Divorce in the Old Testament
• Exodus, the Book of

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