Exodus - 7:18



18 The fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river."'"

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Exodus 7:18.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
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.
And the fishes that are in the river shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.
And the fish that is in the river shall die; and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of the river.
And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall be offensive in smell; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.
and the fish that are in the River die, and the River hath stank, and the Egyptians have been wearied of drinking waters from the River.'
And the fish in the Nile will come to destruction, and the river will send up a bad smell, and the Egyptians will not be able, for disgust, to make use of the water of the Nile for drinking.
Also, the fishes that are in the river will die, and the waters will be polluted, and the Egyptians will be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.' "
Pisces vero qui sunt in flumine morientur: et foetebit flumen, et molestia afficientur Aegyptii, bibendo aquas ex flumine.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Shall lothe - The water of the Nile has always been regarded by the Egyptians as a blessing unique to their land. It is the only pure and wholesome water in their country, since the water in wells and cisterns is unwholesome, while rain water seldom falls, and fountains are extremely rare.

The Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water - The force of this expression cannot be well felt without taking into consideration the peculiar pleasantness and great salubrity of the waters of the Nile. "The water of Egypt," says the Abbe Mascrier, "is so delicious, that one would not wish the heat to be less, or to be delivered from the sensation of thirst. The Turks find it so exquisite that they excite themselves to drink of it by eating salt. It is a common saying among them, that if Mohammed had drank of it he would have besought God that he might never die, in order to have had this continual gratification. When the Egyptians undertake the pilgrimage of Mecca, or go out of their country on any other account, they speak of nothing but the pleasure they shall have at their return in drinking of the waters of the Nile. There is no gratification to be compared to this; it surpasses, in their esteem, that of seeing their relations and families. All those who have tasted of this water allow that they never met with the like in any other place. When a person drinks of it for the first time he can scarcely be persuaded that it is not a water prepared by art; for it has something in it inexpressibly agreeable and pleasing to the taste; and it should have the same rank among waters that champaign has among wines. But its most valuable quality is, that it is exceedingly salutary. It never incommodes, let it be drank in what quantity it may: this is so true that it is no uncommon thing to see some persons drink three buckets of it in a day without the least inconvenience! When I pass such encomiums on the water of Egypt it is right to observe that I speak only of that of the Nile, which indeed is the only water drinkable, for their well water is detestable and unwholesome. Fountains are so rare that they are a kind of prodigy in that country; and as to rain water, that is out of the question, as scarcely any falls in Egypt." "A person," says Mr. Harmer, "who never before heard of the deliciousness of the Nile water, and of the large quantities which on that account are drank of it, will, I am sure, find an energy in those words of Moses to Pharaoh, The Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river, which he never observed before. They will loathe to drink of that water which they used to prefer to all the waters of the universe; loathe to drink of that for which they had been accustomed to long, and will rather choose to drink of well water, which in their country is detestable!" - Observations, vol. iii., p. 564.

And the fish that is in the river shall die,.... Their element being changed, and they not able to live in any other but water:
and the river shall stink; with the blood, into which it should be congealed, and with the putrefied bodies of fishes floating in it:
and the Egyptians shall loath to drink of the water of the river; the very colour of it, looking like blood, would set them against it, and create a nausea in them; or "shall be weary" (h), tired of drinking it in a little time, through the loathsomeness of it; or be weary in digging about it, Exodus 7:24 to get some clear water to drink of; or in seeking to find out ways and methods to cure the waters, that so they might be fit to drink of, as Jarchi interprets it.
(h) "delassabuntur", Tigurine version, Vatablus. "Defatigabuntur", Cartwright.

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