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Exodus 17
Amplified Bible
Exodus 17
Amplified Bible
Water in the Rock
17 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so we may [have something to] drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at [a]Horeb; there you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may [have something to] drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.(A) 7 He named the place [where this miracle occurred] Massah (test) and [b]Meribah (contention) because of the quarreling of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the [patience of the] Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
Amalek Fought
8 Then [c]Amalek [and his people] came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to [d]Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and [e]Hur went up to the hilltop. 11 Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated [f]Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in the book as a memorial and [g]recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek [and his people] from under heaven.”(B) 15 And Moses built an altar and named it [h]The Lord Is My Banner; 16 saying, “The Lord has sworn [an oath]; the Lord will have war against [the people of] Amalek from generation to generation.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 17:6 Horeb may refer to the mountain range of which Sinai is an individual mountain.
- Exodus 17:7 A similar incident occurred when the Israelites were in the Wilderness of Zin at Meribah-kadesh (Num 20:8-13; Deut 32:50-52). On that occasion Moses disobeyed God’s specific instruction and paid a terrible price for his action.
- Exodus 17:8 These were a group of nomads descended from Amalek, a grandson of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother.
- Exodus 17:9 Joshua, leader of the tribe of Ephraim, was one of the great warriors of the OT and was an attendant to and the successor of Moses.
- Exodus 17:10 According to Josephus, Hur was the husband of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.
- Exodus 17:13 These nomadic people were the descendants of Esau.
- Exodus 17:14 Lit put in the ears of.
- Exodus 17:15 Heb YHWH (Yahweh)-Nissi.
Exodus 17
New Catholic Bible
Exodus 17
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 17
Water from the Rock.[a] 1 The entire community of Israel pulled up their camp in the Desert of Sin and, as the Lord commanded, they moved by stages to their camp in Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people protested against Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why are you protesting against me? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?”
3 The people suffered from thirst because there was no water, so they murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to die of thirst along with our children and our animals?” 4 Moses called upon the help of the Lord saying, “What will I do for this people? Only a little more and they will stone me.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Walk in front of the people and bring some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff with which you struck the Nile in your hand and go! 6 Behold, I will stand before you on the rock at Horeb. You will strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 They called this place Massah[b] and Meribah, because the children of Israel had protested and had put the Lord to the test, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”
While Moses Prays, the Amalekites[c] Are Defeated.[d] 8 Amalek came and fought against Israel in Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out to fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did all that Moses had commanded him to do and he fought against Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the top of the hill. 11 When Moses lifted his hands, Israel was stronger, but when he lowered them, Amalek was stronger. 12 Moses’ hands grew heavy as he tired, so they took a stone and placed it under him as a stool. Aaron and Hur stood on either side and held up his hands. Thus, his hands were held steady until the sun set. 13 Joshua defeated Amalek and its people, putting them to the sword.
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua: I will totally cancel the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”
15 Moses built an altar, and he named it, “The Lord is my banner,” 16 and he said, “A hand is raised upon the throne of the Lord that there will be war against Amalek from one generation to the next.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 17:1 Even though they are frequently helped by the Lord, the Hebrews are distrustful of him. The Psalmist has placed the blame for this on bad faith (Ps 95:8-9). God meets their challenge by slaking their thirst with a miracle that left its mark on Israelite piety (Deut 8:15; Ps 114:8). Some rabbis later imagined that the rock accompanied the people through the wilderness; Paul echoes this tradition (1 Cor 10:4), and John alludes to it (Jn 7:37-38).
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means “test,” and Meribah “quarrel.”
- Exodus 17:8 This account will allow the future generations to find assurance in the face of hostile peoples.
- Exodus 17:8 Amalekites: an ancient Arab people, located between Palestine and Egypt (see Gen 36:12).
Exodus 17
New International Version
Exodus 17
New International Version
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. 2 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)
3 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?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone(J) me.”
5 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. 6 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. 7 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?”
The Amalekites Defeated
8 The Amalekites(R) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.(S) 9 Moses said to Joshua,(T) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff(U) of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur(V) went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,(W) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.(X) 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite(Y) army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write(Z) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out(AA) the name of Amalek(AB) from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar(AC) and called(AD) it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against[c] the throne of the Lord,[d] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites(AE) from generation to generation.”(AF)
Footnotes
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
- Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
- Exodus 17:16 Or to
- Exodus 17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Exodus 17
New King James Version
Exodus 17
New King James Version
Water from the Rock(A)
17 Then (B)all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of (C)Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to (D)drink. 2 (E)Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”
So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you (F)tempt the Lord?”
3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people (G)complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our (H)livestock with thirst?”
4 So Moses (I)cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to (J)stone[a] me!”
5 And the Lord said to Moses, (K)“Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which (L)you struck the river, and go. 6 (M)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and 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. 7 So he called the name of the place (N)Massah[b] and [c]Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they [d]tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Victory over the Amalekites(O)
8 (P)Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with (Q)the rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses (R)held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became [e]heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, (S)“Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that (T)I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, [f]The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, “Because [g]the Lord has (U)sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 17:4 Put me to death by stoning
- Exodus 17:7 Lit. Tempted
- Exodus 17:7 Lit. Contention
- Exodus 17:7 tested
- Exodus 17:12 Weary of being held up
- Exodus 17:15 Heb. YHWH Nissi
- Exodus 17:16 Lit. a hand is upon the throne of the Lord
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
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