And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
Water turned to blood strikes horror into the soul, but the justice runs deeper: Egypt made an idol of the Nile, and God justly turned their god into a curse. Whatever creature we worship instead of the Creator, the Lord will either remove from us or make bitter to our taste.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 7:14-25
And all the Egyptians digged round about the river,.... On each side of it, in order to get clear water; and Aben Ezra thinks the Hebrews also, who were affected with this, and the two following plagues, the frogs and lice: but it is much more reasonable to conclude that they were free from them all.
The magicians imitated the miracle on water already drawn, not on the Nile itself, to neutralize the plague's effect once it had struck. The text places Pharaoh's departure after their work, so we must not press the language too far or we fall into impossibility.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 7:22-25