Bitter Water Becomes Good

²² Moses led the Israelites away from the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea into the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Shur. They traveled for three days in the ·desert [wilderness] but found no water. ²³ Then they came to Marah, where there was water, but they could not drink it because it was too bitter. (That is why the place was named Marah [^CHebrew for “bitter”].) ²⁴ The people ·grumbled [complained] to Moses and asked, “What will we drink?”

²⁵ So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a ·tree [or piece of wood]. When Moses threw the ·tree [or piece of wood] into the water, the water became ·good to drink [^Lsweet].

There the Lord gave the people a ·rule [statute; ordinance; requirement] and a law to live by, and there he tested ·their loyalty to him [^Lthem]. ²⁶ He said, “You must ·obey [or listen to the voice of] the Lord your God and do what ·he says is right [^Lis right in his eyes/sight]. If you obey all his ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and keep his rules, I will not bring on you any of the ·sicknesses [diseases] I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord ·who heals you [your physician].”

²⁷ Then the people traveled to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So the people camped there near the water.