The time had come for plague no. 1 in Egypt, when God turned the water of the "mighty" Nile River, and all the water in Egypt (even the jars of water in homes) into blood for seven days. Before it was over, all the fish that had died were rotting and stinking and the river that represented the source of life to the Egyptians was turned into a place of death. God had showed His power over Egypt, and over Pharoah, but they refused to believe.