Bible Strands
Psalms 78:44
He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the assembly of Israel while recounting God’s past judgments in Egypt, placing this event immediately after the initial signs in Zoan and before the plagues of flies and frogs.
The words — וַ/יַּהֲפֹ֣ךְ (va/yahafoch) means “and he turned,” and בַּל (bal) means “not,” structuring the clause to declare a forced reversal of a life-sustaining resource.
The thread — This motif of water becoming blood appears in Psalms 105:29, Exodus 7:17, and Revelation 16:3, tracing a consistent pattern of divine judgment through corrupted natural elements.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that God can sever basic human necessities to enforce judgment, requiring the reader to account for divine sovereignty over creation without romanticizing the consequences.
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 had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
Cross-references
- Psalms 105:29 He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.
- Exodus 7:17 This 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.
- Revelation 16:3 And 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.