Exodus 17
English Standard Version
Water from the Rock
17 (A)All the congregation of the people 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 (B)Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you (C)test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and (D)the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready (E)to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with (F)which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 (G)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place (H)Massah[a] and (I)Meribah,[b] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Israel Defeats Amalek
8 (J)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to (K)Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with (L)the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So (M)Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and (N)Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses (O)held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and (P)Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And (Q)Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of (R)Joshua, that (S)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses (T)built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne[c] of the Lord! (U)The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing
- Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling
- Exodus 17:16 A slight change would yield upon the banner
Exodus 17
New Century Version
Water from a Rock
17 The whole Israelite community left the Desert of Sin and traveled from place to place, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But the people were very thirsty for water, so they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children, and our farm animals with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me to death.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Carry with you the walking stick that you used to strike the Nile River. Now go! 6 I will stand in front of you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Hit that rock with the stick, and water will come out of it so that the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the elders of Israel watched. 7 He named that place Massah,[a] because the Israelites tested the Lord when they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” He also named it Meribah,[b] because they quarreled.
The Amalekites Fight Israel
8 At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought the Israelites. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, holding the walking stick of God in my hands.”
10 Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight, but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win. 12 Later, when Moses’ arms became tired, the men put a large rock under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands—Aaron on one side and Hur on the other. They kept his hands steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write about this battle in a book so people will remember. And be sure to tell Joshua, because I will completely destroy the Amalekites from the earth.”
15 Then Moses built an altar and named it The Lord Is My Banner. 16 Moses said, “I lifted my hands toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will fight against the Amalekites forever.”
Exodus 17
Common English Bible
Water from a rock
17 The whole Israelite community broke camp and set out from the Sin desert to continue their journey, as the Lord commanded. They set up their camp at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people argued with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses said to them, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But the people were very thirsty for water there, and they complained to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with this people? They are getting ready to stone me.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of Israel’s elders with you. Take in your hand the shepherd’s rod that you used to strike the Nile River, and go. 6 I’ll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock. Water will come out of it, and the people will be able to drink.” Moses did so while Israel’s elders watched. 7 He called the place Massah[a] and Meribah,[b] because the Israelites argued with and tested the Lord, asking, “Is the Lord really with us or not?”
Israel defeats Amalek
8 Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I’ll stand on top of the hill with the shepherd’s rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him. He fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel would start winning the battle. Whenever Moses lowered his hand, Amalek would start winning. 12 But Moses’ hands grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under Moses so he could sit down on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side of him so that his hands remained steady until sunset. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a reminder on a scroll and read it to Joshua: I will completely wipe out the memory of Amalek under the sky.”
15 Moses built an altar there and called it, “The Lord is my banner.” 16 He said, “The power of the Lord’s banner![c] The Lord is at war with Amalek in every generation.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 17:7 Or test
- Exodus 17:7 Or argument
- Exodus 17:16 Heb uncertain
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible