² Now there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people contended with Moses, and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished [in the plague] before the Lord!^{(A) 4} Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness to die here, we and our livestock? ⁵ Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and fell on their faces [before the Lord in prayer]. Then the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared to them; ⁷ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Water of Meribah

⁸ “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock ^[a]in front of them, so that it will pour out its water. In this way you shall bring water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their livestock drink [fresh water].”

⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his hand [in anger] and with his rod he struck the rock twice [instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord had commanded]. And the water poured out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank [fresh water]. ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed (trusted) Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, you therefore ^[b]shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”^{(B) 13} These are the waters of Meribah (contention, strife), where the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He showed Himself holy among them.