Exodus 17:1-7
New Living Translation
Water from the Rock
17 At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin[a] and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded.
“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai.[b] Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.
7 Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”
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Exodus 17:1-7
Lexham English Bible
Water from a Rock
17 And all the community of the Israelites[a] set out from the desert of Sin for their journeys according to the command of Yahweh, and they camped in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 And the people quarreled with Moses, and they said, “Give us water so that we can drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh?” 3 And the people thirsted for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why ever[b] did you bring us up from Egypt to kill me[c] and my sons and my cattle with thirst?”
4 And Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “What will I do with this people? A little longer and they will stone me.” 5 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go on before the people and take with you some from the elders of Israel, and the staff with which you struck the Nile take in your hand, and go. 6 Look, I will be standing before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out from it, and the people will drink.”
And Moses did so before the eyes of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the Israelites[d] and because of their testing Yahweh by saying, “Is Yahweh in our midst or not?”
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- Exodus 17:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 17:3 Or “at all”; literally “this”
- Exodus 17:3 The unexpected switch to first-person singular pronouns reflects the fact that the question summarizes a host of angry accusations and self-centered concern
- Exodus 17:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
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