Section 26 of 1277:14–25Exodus

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King James VersionExodus 7:14–25

And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

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.

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.

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.

And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.

And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.

And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Exodus 7:14–25

The Nile Turns to Blood

The warning is given at the river in the morning

Pharaoh's heart is already hard; he refuses to let the people go. Moses is to meet him at the Nile with the rod that became a serpent and demand release so that Israel may serve the LORD in the wilderness. The sign that he is the LORD will be the river turned to blood: fish dying, the river stinking, water loathed.

Blood throughout Egypt, imitation, and a king who goes home

Aaron stretches the rod over streams, rivers, ponds, and pools; there is blood in wood and stone vessels. Fish die; Egyptians cannot drink. Magicians do the same with enchantments. Pharaoh turns, goes into his house, and does not set his heart to it. People dig around the river for water. Seven days pass.

Egypt's life-source is struck, and ordinary people bear the thirst. The plague account contests imperial refusal. It does not invite delight in civilian suffering or a scientific reconstruction of every detail.

How this should shape us

When opposing abusive power, keep noncombatants in view. This scene is about a refused demand and a struck river, not a license to poison a city's water or to blame every later drought on its victims.

Teach it back

Explain Exodus 7:14–25 in your own words. Include both movements, its place in Exodus, one historical or compositional uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one conclusion the complete context rules out.

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

Best judgment: Careful interpreters agree that the received text states the following: A morning warning, struck Nile, dead fish, foul water, Aaron's extended staff, magicians' imitation, and Pharaoh's disregard begin the plague cycle with overlapping narrative details. They disagree over source layers, date, historical recovery, archaeology, Hebrew details, ritual development, legal use, and canonical relationship in different proportions; this study treats the final form directly while marking those alternatives as probable or uncertain rather than settled fact.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exodus 7:14–25, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 7:14–25

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.

NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 7:14–25

The Plagues Study Guide

Supports: Canonical plague sequence, composite details, Pharaoh negotiations, hardening, moral difficulty, Egyptian setting, and limits of naturalistic reconstruction.

Yale Bible Study, 'The Plagues,' complete study guide pp. 1–4, 'Two Sources,' 'Purpose of the Plagues,' and 'Natural Phenomena'; applied to Exodus 7:14–25

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

Supports: Distinct Hebrew hardening terms, narrative sequence, source-critical alternatives, moral agency problem, and limits of a single retributive explanation.

Frankel, 'Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart,' complete article sections on the hardening roots, Priestly and non-Priestly sequences, editorial proposals, sea notices, and traditional ethical readings; applied to Exodus 7:14–25

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: Exodus 7:14–25, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 7:14–25

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12

Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 7:14–25

Open source ↗

open university course study guide

The Plagues Study Guide

Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins

Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition

Supports: Canonical plague sequence, composite details, Pharaoh negotiations, hardening, moral difficulty, Egyptian setting, and limits of naturalistic reconstruction.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'The Plagues,' complete study guide pp. 1–4, 'Two Sources,' 'Purpose of the Plagues,' and 'Natural Phenomena'; applied to Exodus 7:14–25

Open source ↗

modern jewish scholarly source and redaction study

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

David Frankel

TheTorah.com, 2016

Supports: Distinct Hebrew hardening terms, narrative sequence, source-critical alternatives, moral agency problem, and limits of a single retributive explanation.

Exact location: Frankel, 'Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart,' complete article sections on the hardening roots, Priestly and non-Priestly sequences, editorial proposals, sea notices, and traditional ethical readings; applied to Exodus 7:14–25

Open source ↗

Exodus 7:14–25, King James Version

The warning is given at the river in the morning

Blood throughout Egypt, imitation, and a king who goes home

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

The Plagues Study Guide

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart