The First Plague: Blood
Because Pharaoh still refuses, the LORD sends Moses to meet him at the Nile and announce that its waters will turn to blood. The plague is both a demand for release and a sign that Pharaoh and Egypt will know the LORD.
T14hen the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. 17This 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. 18The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”
The LORD commands Aaron to stretch out his staff over Egypt’s waters, and Moses and Aaron obey before Pharaoh. The Nile and waters throughout the land become blood, the fish die, and the river becomes undrinkable.
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 all the reservoirs— that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.” 20Moses 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. 21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
Egypt’s magicians imitate the sign, but Pharaoh still does not listen and returns to his palace without taking it to heart. The Egyptians dig for water around the Nile, and the blow on the river lasts seven full days.
22But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. 23Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart. 24So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river. 25And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.