He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.
Parallel translations
- WEB he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could not drink.
- KJV And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
- NKJV Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink.
- NASB And turned their rivers to blood, And their streams, so that they could not drink.
- NLT For he turned their rivers into blood, so no one could drink from the streams.
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 rivers to blood so they could not drink. The first plague struck at the nation's lifeline.
Overview
The Nile, Egypt's source of life and an object of worship, was turned to blood. This judgment exposed the impotence of Egypt's gods before Yahweh. It set in motion the series of plagues by which God redeemed His people, displaying His sovereign power over all creation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ps 105:29He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.
- Exod 7:17–21This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.
- Rev 16:3–6And 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.
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 78:44 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.