17 1 The Israelites come into Rephidim, and grudge for water. 6 Water is given them out of the rock. 11 Moses holdeth up his hands, and they overcome the Amalekites. 15 Moses buildeth an altar to the Lord.

And all the Congregation of the children of Israel departed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys at the [a]commandment of the Lord, and camped in [b]Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.

(A)Wherefore the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why contend ye with me? wherefore do ye [c]tempt the Lord?

So the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore hast thou thus brought us out of Egypt, to kill us, and our children, and our cattle with thirst?

And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do to this people? for they be almost ready to [d]stone me.

And the Lord answered to Moses, Go before the people, and take with thee of the Elders of Israel: and thy rod wherewith thou (B)smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go:

(C)Behold, I will stand there before thee upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite on the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the Elders of Israel.

And he called the name of the place [e]Massah and [f]Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they had tempted the Lord, saying, Is the [g]Lord among us, or no?

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 17:1 Hebrew, at the mouth.
  2. Exodus 17:1 Moses here noteth not every place where they camped, as Num. 33, but only those places, where some notable thing was done.
  3. Exodus 17:2 Why distrust you God? why look ye not for succor of him without murmuring against us?
  4. Exodus 17:4 How ready the people are for their own matters to slay the true Prophets, and how slow they are to revenge God’s cause against his enemies and false Prophets.
  5. Exodus 17:7 Or, tentation.
  6. Exodus 17:7 Or, strife.
  7. Exodus 17:7 When in adversity we think God to be absent, then we neglect his promise, and make him a liar.

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