Exodus 17-19

New King James Version

Water from the Rock^(A)

17 Then ^(B)all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of ^(C)Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to ^(D)drink. ²^(E)Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”

So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you ^(F)tempt the Lord?”

³And the people thirsted there for water, and the people ^(G)complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our ^(H)livestock with thirst?”

⁴So Moses ^(I)cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to ^(J)stone^[a] me!”

⁵And the Lord said to Moses, ^(K)“Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which ^(L)you struck the river, and go. ⁶^(M)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷So he called the name of the place ^(N)Massah^[b] and ^[c]Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they ^[d]tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Victory over the Amalekites^(O)

⁸^(P)Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. ⁹And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with ^(Q)the rod of God in my hand.” ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹And so it was, when Moses ^(R)held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses’ hands became ^[e]heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(S)“Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that ^(T)I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵And Moses built an altar and called its name, ^[f]The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; ¹⁶for he said, “Because ^[g]the Lord has ^(U)sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro’s Advice^(V)

18 And ^(W)Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that ^(X)God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took ^(Y)Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, ³with her ^(Z)two sons, of whom the name of one was ^[h]Gershom (for he said, ^(AA)“I have been a ^[i]stranger in a foreign land”) ⁴and the name of the other was ^[j]Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my ^(AB)help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); ⁵and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at ^(AC)the mountain of God. ⁶Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

⁷So Moses ^(AD)went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and ^(AE)kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent. ⁸And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had ^(AF)delivered them. ⁹Then Jethro rejoiced for all the ^(AG)good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰And Jethro said, ^(AH)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is ^(AI)greater than all the gods; ^(AJ)for in the very thing in which they ^[k]behaved ^(AK)proudly, He was above them.” ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, ^[l]took a burnt ^(AL)offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel ^(AM)to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

¹³And so it was, on the next day, that Moses ^(AN)sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone ^[m]sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(AO)the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶When they have ^(AP)a ^[n]difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

¹⁷So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. ¹⁸Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; ^(AQ)you are not able to perform it by yourself. ¹⁹Listen now to my voice; I will give you ^[o]counsel, and God will be with you: Stand ^(AR)before God for the people, so that you may ^(AS)bring the difficulties to God. ²⁰And you shall ^(AT)teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and ^(AU)the work they must do. ²¹Moreover you shall select from all the people ^(AV)able men, such as ^(AW)fear God, ^(AX)men of truth, ^(AY)hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²²And let them judge the people at all times. ^(AZ)Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for ^(BA)they will bear the burden with you. ²³If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their ^(BB)place in peace.”

²⁴So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵And ^(BC)Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²⁶So they judged the people at all times; the ^(BD)hard^[p] cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

²⁷Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^(BE)he went his way to his own land.

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, ^(BF)they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. ²For they had departed from ^(BG)Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before ^(BH)the mountain.

³And ^(BI)Moses went up to God, and the Lord ^(BJ)called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ⁴^(BK)‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^(BL)I ^[q]bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵Now ^(BM)therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and ^(BN)keep My covenant, then ^(BO)you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is ^(BP)Mine. ⁶And you shall be to Me a ^(BQ)kingdom of priests and a ^(BR)holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

⁷So Moses came and called for the ^(BS)elders of the people, and ^[r]laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. ⁸Then ^(BT)all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you ^(BU)in the thick cloud, ^(BV)that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(BW)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. ¹¹And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. ^(BX)Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”

¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; ^(BY)do not come near your wives.”

¹⁶Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were ^(BZ)thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp ^(CA)trembled. ¹⁷And ^(CB)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now ^(CC)Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon ^(CD)it in fire. ^(CE)Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and ^[s]the ^(CF)whole mountain quaked greatly. ¹⁹And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, ^(CG)Moses spoke, and ^(CH)God answered him by voice. ²⁰Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through ^(CI)to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. ²²Also let the ^(CJ)priests who come near the Lord ^(CK)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(CL)break out against them.”

²³But Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ^(CM)‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”

²⁴Then the Lord said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.