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Water from the Rock

17 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by [a]stages from the wilderness of (A)Sin, according to the [b]command of Yahweh, and they camped at (B)Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people (C)contended with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “(D)Why do you contend with me? (E)Why do you test Yahweh?” But the people thirsted there for water; and [c]they (F)grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to put [d]us and [e]our children and [f](G)our livestock to death with thirst?” So Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A (H)little more and they will stone me.” Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of (I)the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which (J)you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at (K)Horeb; and (L)you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he named the place [g](M)Massah and [h](N)Meribah because of the contending of the sons of Israel, and because they (O)tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us or not?”

Israel Overwhelms Amalek

Then (P)Amalek came and fought against Israel at (Q)Rephidim. So Moses said to (R)Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will take my stand on the top of the hill with (S)the staff of God in my hand.” 10 And Joshua did as Moses [i]told him, to fight against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and (T)Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it happened when Moses raised his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand [j]down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur (U)supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua [k]overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “(V)Write this in [l]a book as a memorial and [m]recite it in Joshua’s hearing, [n]that (W)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an (X)altar and named it (Y)Yahweh is My Banner; 16 and he said, “(Z)Because He has sworn with a hand upon the throne of Yah, Yahweh will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 17:1 Lit their journeyings
  2. Exodus 17:1 Lit mouth
  3. Exodus 17:3 Lit the people
  4. Exodus 17:3 Lit me
  5. Exodus 17:3 Lit my
  6. Exodus 17:3 Lit my
  7. Exodus 17:7 Lit test
  8. Exodus 17:7 Lit quarrel
  9. Exodus 17:10 Lit said to
  10. Exodus 17:11 Lit rest
  11. Exodus 17:13 Lit weakened
  12. Exodus 17:14 Lit the book
  13. Exodus 17:14 Lit place it in the ears of
  14. Exodus 17:14 Or for

Water from the Rock

17 The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.(A) So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”

“Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing(B) the Lord?”

But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (C)

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!” (D)

The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water(E) will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah[a] and Meribah[b](F) because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Attack

At Rephidim, Amalek[c](G) came and fought against Israel. Moses said to Joshua,(H) “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand.”

10 Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 While Moses held up his hand,[d] Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand[e] down, Amalek prevailed.(I) 12 When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army[f] with the sword.

14 The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”(J)

15 And Moses built an altar(K) and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.”[g] 16 He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward[h] the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Footnotes

  1. 17:7 = Testing
  2. 17:7 = Quarreling
  3. 17:8 A seminomadic people descended from Amalek, a grandson of Esau; Gn 36:12
  4. 17:11 Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read hands
  5. 17:11 Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read hands
  6. 17:13 Or people
  7. 17:15 = Yahweh-nissi
  8. 17:16 Or hand was on, or hand was against; Hb obscure