Exodus 15:22-27
English Standard Version
Bitter Water Made Sweet
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of (A)Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to (B)Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.[a] 24 And the people (C)grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he (D)cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,[b] and he (E)threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord[c] made for them a statute and a rule, and there he (F)tested them, 26 saying, (G)“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the (H)diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, (I)your healer.”
27 Then (J)they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 15:23 Marah means bitterness
- Exodus 15:25 Or tree
- Exodus 15:25 Hebrew he
Exodus 15:22-27
New Living Translation
Bitter Water at Marah
22 Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. 23 When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).
24 Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. 25 So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.
It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. 26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”
27 After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
