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Exodus 4:9

in Exodus 4

But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

KJV

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

This verse in Exodus 4

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

This was done, at first, as a sign, but, not gaining due credit with Pharaoh, the whole river was afterwards turned into blood, and then it became a plague. He is ordered to work this miracle in case they would not be convinced by the other two.

This site's exposition

the voice of the first sign

on Exodus 4:8-9

The signs are given as a graded series against unbelief, each one held in reserve for the case where the one before it fails. The third is never performed here, and it is the only one that touches Egypt's own river, poured out on dry ground where anyone can watch it. It becomes the first plague at Exodus 7:20, where the water is struck in the river itself instead of being carried out of it.

This site's exposition

take some water from the Nile

A third sign is held in reserve for a people who refuse the first two. Water taken from the Nile, the river Egypt lived by, becomes blood on the dry ground, a small first form of the plague of chapter 7. Matthew Henry notes that what began as a sign later struck the whole river when Pharaoh would not believe.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs,....

The words behind it

25 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְהָיָ֡הand it will be

    vehayahH19613559 times

  • אִם־if

    ʾim-H5181069 times

  • לֹ֣אnot

    lo'H38085168 times

  • יַאֲמִ֡ינוּthey will believe

    yaaminuH539106 times

  • גַּם֩also

    gamH1571769 times

  • לִשְׁנֵ֨י<to> [the] two

    lishneiH8147768 times

  • הָאֹת֜וֹתthe signs

    haototH22680 times

  • הָאֵ֗לֶּה<the> these

    haelehH428746 times

  • וְלֹ֤אand not

    velo'H38085168 times

  • יִשְׁמְעוּן֙they will listen !

    yishmeunH80851159 times

  • לְקֹלֶ֔ךָto voice your

    lekolechaH6963506 times

  • וְלָקַחְתָּ֙and you will take

    velakachtaH3947966 times

  • מִמֵּימֵ֣יsome of [the] water of

    mimeimeiH4325581 times

  • הַיְאֹ֔רthe River

    hayorH297565 times

  • וְשָׁפַכְתָּ֖and you will pour [it] out

    veshafakhtaH8210

  • הַיַּבָּשָׁ֑הthe dry ground

    haiyabashahH300414 times

  • וְהָי֤וּand they will become

    vehayuH19613559 times

  • הַמַּ֙יִם֙the waters

    hamayimH4325581 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH8345497 times

  • תִּקַּ֣חyou will take

    tikachH3947966 times

  • מִן־from

    min-H44801188 times

  • הַיְאֹ֔רthe River

    hayorH297565 times

  • וְהָי֥וּand they will become

    vehayuH19613559 times

  • לְדָ֖ם<into> blood

    ledamH1818360 times

  • בַּיַּבָּֽשֶׁת׃on the dry ground

    baiyabashetH3006

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Matthew 7:2

    For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

    it leads to

    • James 2:13

      For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

    • Mark 4:24

      He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.

    • Luke 6:38

      Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured…

    • Obadiah 1:15

      For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.

    • Revelation 18:6

      Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.

  • Through

    Exodus 1:22

    Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

    it leads to

    • Acts 7:19

      He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.

    • Proverbs 1:16

      For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.

    • Exodus 1:16

      “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

About Exodus

The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.