Exodus 4:9

4:9 And if ¹  they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you, ²  then take ³  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.” ⁴ 

Exodus 17:5

17:5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people; ⁵  take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go.

[4:9]  ¹ tn Heb “and it will be if.”

[4:9]  ² tn Heb “listen to your voice.”

[4:9]  ³ tn 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.

[4:9]  ⁴ sn 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.

[17:5]  ⁵ tn “Pass over before” indicates that Moses is the leader who goes first, and the people follow him. In other words, לִפְנֵי (lifney) indicates time and not place here (B. Jacob, Exodus, 477-78).