Exodus 7:19

Verse

And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

American Standard Version (1901)

And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.

Bible in Basic English

And the Lord said, Say to Aaron, Let the rod in your hand be stretched out over the waters of Egypt, and over the rivers and the streams and the pools, and over every stretch of water, so that they may be turned to blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.

Douay-Rheims 1899

The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.

Free Bible Version

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your walking stick in your hand and hold it out over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers and canals and ponds and pools, so that they will turn to blood. There will be blood through all of Egypt, even in containers made of wood and stone.’”

Geneva Bible 1599

The Lord then spake to Moses, Say vnto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand ouer the waters of Egypt, ouer their streames, ouer their riuers, and ouer their pondes,, and ouer all pooles of their waters, and they shalbe blood, and there shalbe blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and of stone.

King James (Authorized) Version

¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

One Unity Resource Bible

Adonai said to Moses [Drawn out], “Tell Aaron [Light-bringer], ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt [Abode of slavery], over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt [Abode of slavery], both in wood buckets and in stone jars.’”

Translation for Translators

Yahweh said to Moses/me, “When you are talking to the king, say to Aaron, ‘Hold your stick out as though you were holding it over the water in Egypt—over the rivers, the canals, the ponds, and over the pools of water, in order that all of it may become red like blood.’ When Aaron does that, there will be blood throughout Egypt, even in wooden jars and in stone jars.”

Unlocked Literal Bible

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and reach out with your hand over the waters of Egypt, and over their rivers, streams, pools, and all their ponds, so that their water may become blood. Do this so that there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in containers of wood and stone.'”

Noah Webster Bible

And the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood: and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

World English Bible

Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

Young's Literal Translation

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand against the waters of Egypt, against their streams, against their rivers, and against their ponds, and against all their collections of waters; and they are blood — and there hath been blood in all the land of Egypt, both in [vessels of] wood, and in [those of] stone.'

Context

The First Plague: Blood

¹⁸The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”¹⁹And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

Summary

In Exodus 7:19, God instructs Moses to strike the Nile River with his staff, turning its water into blood. This miraculous sign serves as a demonstration of God's power and judgment against the Egyptians for their oppression of the Israelites. The transformation of the Nile, a source of life and fertility in Egypt, into blood symbolizes the devastation and punishment that will come upon the land. This event marks the beginning of the ten plagues that ultimately lead to the liberation of the Israelites from slavery.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

That there may be blood - both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone - Not only the Nile itself was to be thus changed into blood in all its branches, and the canals issuing from it, but all the water of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs, was to undergo a similar change. And this was to extend even to the water already brought into their houses for culinary and other domestic purposes. As the water of the Nile is known to be very thick and muddy, and the Egyptians are obliged to filter it through pots of a kind of white earth, and sometimes through a paste made of almonds, Mr. Harmer supposes that the vessels of wood and stone mentioned above may refer to the process of filtration, which no doubt has been practiced among them from the remotest period. The meaning given above I think to be more natural.