¹⁶ You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.

⁷ Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”

¹² Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’^[a]”

⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’^[a]”

⁹ Nor should we put Christ^[a] to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.

² So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded.

“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”

The Bronze Snake

⁴ Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea^[a] to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, ⁵ and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”

³ The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the Lord’s presence with our brothers! ⁴ Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock?