7303. Verses 14-24 And Jehovah said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is inflexible; he refuses to send the people away. Go to Pharaoh [in the morning; behold, he goes out to the water]. And you are to stand so as to meet him beside the bank of the river; and the rod which was turned into a serpent, take in your hand. And you shall say to him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, Send My people away, and let them serve Me in the wilderness; and behold, you have not heard up to now. Thus said Jehovah, In this you will know that I am Jehovah - behold, I strike with the rod which is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they will be turned into blood. And the fish that are in the river will die, and the river will stink; and the Egyptians will find it difficult ¹ to drink water from the river. And Jehovah said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over every gathering of their waters, and they will be blood; and there will be blood in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and he lifted up the rod and struck the waters which were in the river, before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants. And all the waters which were in the river were converted into blood. And the fish which were in the river died, and the river stank, and the Egyptians were unable to drink water from the river; and there was blood in the entire land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did the same with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart was unyielding, and he did not hear ² them, as Jehovah had spoken. And Pharaoh looked back and went to his house, and he did not take even this to heart. ³ And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink from the waters of the river.

'And Jehovah said to Moses' means Divine instruction. 'Pharaoh's heart is inflexible; he refuses to send the people away' means that they were obstinately determined not to leave those whom they were molesting. 'Go to Pharaoh in the morning' means being raised to stronger proofs. 'Behold, he goes out to the water' means that at this time those who molested were steeped in falsities resulting from illusions. 'And you are to stand so as to meet him beside the bank of the river' means an influx in keeping with the state. 'And the rod which was turned into a serpent, take in your hand' means the same power as before. 'And you shall say to him' means a command. 'Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying' means coming from the Deity of the Church to those who were molesting. 'Send My people away' means that they are to leave them. 'And let them serve Me in the wilderness' means worship in obscurity. 'And behold, you have not heard up to now' means disobedience. 'And Jehovah said, In this you will know that I am Jehovah' means in order that they may have a fear of the Divine. 'Behold, I strike with the rod which is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river' means power over falsities which are the result of illusions. 'And they will be turned into blood' means that they will falsify truths. 'And the fish that are in the river will die' means that factual knowledge of truth will be destroyed. 'And the river will stink' means an aversion to it. 'And the Egyptians will find it difficult to drink water from the river' means so that they would wish to know as little as possible about it. 'And Jehovah said to Moses' means putting it into effect. 'Say to Aaron, Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt' means power directed against the falsities residing with the molesters. 'Over their rivers, over their streams' means against teachings [that consist of falsity]. 'And over their pools' means against the factual knowledge subservient to them. 'And over every gathering of their waters' means where any falsity exists. 'And they will be blood' means that they will falsify truths. 'And there will be blood in all the land of Egypt' means total falsification. 'Both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone' means of the good of charity and of the truth of faith. 'And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah had commanded' means putting it into effect. 'And he lifted up the rod and struck the waters which were in the river' means strong power directed against falsities. 'Before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants' means to the discernment of all those who were molesting. 'And all the waters which were in the river were converted into blood' means consequent falsification of all truth. 'And the fish which were in the river died' means the destruction of factual knowledge of truth too. 'And the river stank' means aversion. 'And the Egyptians were unable to drink water from the river' means that they wished to know as little as possible about it. 'And there was blood in the entire land of Egypt' means total falsification. 'And the magicians of Egypt did the same with their enchantments' means that by a misuse of order the falsifiers among them produced something that looked the same. 'And Pharaoh's heart was unyielding' means obstinacy. 'And he did not hear them' means non-acceptance and disobedience. 'As Jehovah had spoken' means as accorded with what had been foretold. 'And Pharaoh looked back and went to his house' means thought and reflection based on falsities. 'And he did not take this to heart' means resistance arising in the will and consequent obstinacy. 'And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink' means searching out truth which they could apply to falsities. 'For they could not drink from the waters of the river' means non-application through the use of utter falsities.

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