Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up,(A) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth(B) and there was no one to work the ground, but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed(C) a man[c](D) from the dust(E) of the ground(F) and breathed into his nostrils the breath(G) of life,(H) and the man became a living being.(I)

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;(J) and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees(K) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life(L) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(M)

10 A river(N) watering the garden flowed from Eden;(O) from there it was separated into four headwaters.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6
  2. Genesis 2:6 Or mist
  3. Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,(A) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,(B) but there was no water(C) for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water(D) to drink.”(E)

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”(F)

But the people were thirsty(G) for water there, and they grumbled(H) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die(I) of thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone(J) me.”

The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff(K) with which you struck the Nile,(L) and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.(M) Strike(N) the rock, and water(O) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah[a](P) and Meribah[b](Q) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
  2. Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.

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