^4:8“If¹⁵ they do not believe you or pay attention to¹⁶ the former sign, then they may¹⁷ believe the latter sign.¹⁸^4:9And if¹⁹ they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you,²⁰ then take²¹ some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”²²

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Footnotes

15 Heb “and it will be if.”
16 Heb “listen to the voice of,” meaning listen so as to respond appropriately.
17 The nuance of this perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive will be equal to the imperfect of possibility—“they may believe.”
18 Heb “believe the voice of the latter sign,” so as to understand and accept the meaning of the event.
19 Heb “and it will be if.”
20 Heb “listen to your voice.”
21 The verb form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it functions then as the equivalent of the imperfect tense—here as an imperfect of instruction.
22 This is a powerful sign, for the Nile was always known as the source of life in Egypt, but now it will become the evidence of death. So the three signs were alike, each consisting of life and death. They would clearly anticipate the struggle with Egypt through the plagues. The point is clear that in the face of the possibility that people might not believe, the servants of God must offer clear proof of the power of God as they deliver the message of God. The rest is up to God.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“If they will not believe you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign. And if they don’t believe even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”

NLTNew Living Translation

The Lord said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“And if they do not believe you and they will not listen to the voice of the former sign, then they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And if they also do not believe the second of these signs and they will not listen to your voice, then you must take water from the Nile and pour it onto the dry ground, and the water that you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

Public Domain