He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.
Parallel translations
- WEB He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.
- KJV He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
- NKJV He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish.
- NASB He turned their waters into blood, And caused their fish to die.
- NLT He turned their water into blood, poisoning all the fish.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God turned Egypt's waters to blood and killed the fish. It matters because the first plague struck at the heart of Egypt's life and worship.
Overview
This recalls the first plague, the Nile and all Egypt's waters becoming blood (Exodus 7:17-21). The Nile was Egypt's lifeline and an object of worship, so the judgment exposed the impotence of its gods. The Lord alone is sovereign over creation and over the false deities of the nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Exod 7:20–21Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood.
- Rev 16:3And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.
- Ps 78:44He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.
- Isa 50:2Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
- Ezek 29:4–5But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 105:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.