Bible Strands
Exodus 7:18
The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through Moses to Pharaoh, declaring the immediate consequences of the first plague after the staff strikes the Nile.
The words — תָּמוּת (ta.Mut) translates to "it will die," and בָּאַשׁ (va.'Ash) means "it will stink," directly describing the Nile's biological and olfactory collapse.
The thread — The undrinkable water and dead fish motif recurs in Exodus 7:21 and Exodus 7:24, while the expanded command to strike all Egyptian reservoirs appears in Exodus 7:19.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment directly disables a nation's primary resource, leaving no neutral ground for Pharaoh's defiance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Exodus 7:24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.
- Exodus 7:21 The 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.
- Numbers 11:20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
- Numbers 21:5 and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”