The Waters of Meribah

^2 (A)Now there was no water for the congregation. ^(B)And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

¹⁹ Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^(A)And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

⁴² And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, ^(A)the cloud covered it, and ^(B)the glory of the Lord appeared.

²³ When they came to ^(A)Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.^{[a] 24} And the people ^(B)grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

¹⁰ nor grumble, ^(A)as some of them did and ^(B)were destroyed by ^(C)the Destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an example, but ^(D)they were written down for our instruction, ^(E)on whom the end of the ages has come.

⁵ And the people ^(A)spoke against God and against Moses, ^(B)“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ^(C)we loathe this worthless food.”

^3 (A)They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, ^(B)“You have gone too far! For ^(C)all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

The People Complain

11 And ^(A)the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, ^(B)his anger was kindled, and ^(C)the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. ² Then ^(D)the people cried out to Moses, ^(E)and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³ So the name of that place was called ^(F)Taberah,^[a] because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ Now the ^(G)rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also ^(H)wept again and said, ^(I)“Oh that we had meat to eat! ^5 (J)We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

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.”