Exodus 17
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Gives Water from a Rock
17 (A) The Israelites left the desert and moved from one place to another each time the Lord ordered them to. Once they camped at Rephidim,[a] but there was no water for them to drink.
2 The people started complaining to Moses, “Give us some water!”
Moses replied, “Why are you complaining to me and trying to put the Lord to the test?”
3 But the people were thirsty and kept on complaining, “Moses, did you bring us out of Egypt just to let us and our families and our animals die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses prayed to the Lord, “What am I going to do with these people? They are about to stone me to death!”
5 The Lord answered, “Take some of the leaders with you and go ahead of the rest of the people. Also take along the walking stick with which you struck the Nile River. 6 When you get to the rock at Mount Sinai,[b] I will be there with you. Strike the rock with the stick, and water will pour out for the people to drink.” Moses did this while the leaders watched.
7 The people had complained and tested the Lord by asking, “Is the Lord really with us?” So Moses named that place Massah, which means “testing” and Meribah, which means “complaining.”
Israel Defeats the Amalekites
8 When the Israelites were at Rephidim, they were attacked by the Amalekites. 9 So Moses told Joshua, “Have some men ready to attack the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on a hilltop, holding this walking stick that has the power of God.”
10 Joshua led the attack as Moses had commanded, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the hilltop. 11 The Israelites out-fought the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms, but they started losing whenever he lowered them. 12 After a while, his arms were so tired that Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to sit on. Then they stood beside him and supported his arms in the same position until sunset. 13 That's how Joshua defeated the Amalekites.
14 (B) Afterwards, the Lord said to Moses, “Write an account of this victory and read it to Joshua. I want the Amalekites to be forgotten forever.”
15 Moses built an altar and named it “The Lord Gives Me Victory.” 16 Then Moses explained, “This is because I depended on the Lord.[c] But in future generations, the Lord will fight the Amalekites again and again.”
Exodus 17
English Standard Version
Water from the Rock
17 (A)All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 (B)Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you (C)test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and (D)the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready (E)to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with (F)which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 (G)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place (H)Massah[a] and (I)Meribah,[b] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Israel Defeats Amalek
8 (J)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to (K)Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with (L)the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So (M)Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and (N)Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses (O)held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and (P)Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And (Q)Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of (R)Joshua, that (S)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses (T)built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne[c] of the Lord! (U)The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing
- Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling
- Exodus 17:16 A slight change would yield upon the banner
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