any vessel, nor well, nor river, without finding in it the taste of fresh blood." He [Pharaoh] said: "O Moses, pray to your Lord for us to lift the blood from us." So he lifted it from them, yet they did not fulfill their promise.

8881 - My father told us, Abu Hudhayfah told us, Shibl told us, from 'Abd Allah ibn Kathir, from Mujahid, he said: The Nile flowed with blood, so the Israelite would draw clean water and the Egyptian would draw blood. They would share a single vessel, and that which was closest to the Israelite would be clean water, and that which was closest to the Egyptian would be blood.

8882 - And my father told us, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-A'la al-San'ani told us, Muhammad ibn Thawr told us, from Ma'mar, from Qatadah, he said: Then He sent the blood upon them, so when one of them wanted to drink, that water would turn into blood.

And the second interpretation:

8883 - My father told us, Ahmad ibn Khallad al-Khallal told us, Yahya ibn Abi Bukayr told us, Zuhayr ibn Muhammad told us, he said: Zayd ibn Aslam said: As for the blood, Allah empowered nosebleeds (al-ru'af) upon them.

His saying, the Almighty: "As signs"

8884 - My father told us, 'Abd Allah ibn Raja' al-Ghudani told us, Isra'il informed us, from Simak, from Nawf al-Shami, he said: Moses stayed among the family of Pharaoh for twenty years after the sorcerers were defeated, showing them the signs: locusts, lice, frogs, and blood, but they refused—meaning: they refused to submit.

His saying, the Almighty: "Distinct"

8885 - My father told us, Abu Salih told us, Mu'awiyah ibn Salih told me, from 'Ali ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn 'Abbas, he said: They were distinct signs, one following another, so that Allah would have the proof against them. Then Allah seized them for their sins and drowned them in the sea.

His saying, the Almighty: "But they were arrogant and were a criminal people"

8886 - Muhammad ibn Sa'd informed us in what he wrote to me, my father told me, my paternal uncle told me, from his father, from Ibn 'Abbas: When Moses came to Pharaoh with the message, they acted arrogantly. He said: "I will never send the Children of Israel with you."