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?”

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Footnotes

  1. 17:7 = Testing
  2. 17:7 = Quarreling

Water in 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 the Lord, and camped at (B)Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. So the people (C)quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink!” And Moses said to them, “(D)Why do you quarrel with me? (E)Why do you test the Lord?” But the people were thirsty for water there; and [c]they (F)grumbled against Moses and said, “Why is it that you have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill [d]us and [e]our children and [f](G)our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What am I to do with this people? A (H)little more and they will stone me!” Then the Lord 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, so that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. Then he named the place [g](M)Massah and [h](N)Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they (O)tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”

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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 I.e., test
  8. Exodus 17:7 I.e., quarrel