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BibleStudyIt Exodus 17

  • Exodus Chapter 17

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God gives water out of a rock

17 Then all the Israelites continued to travel on from the desert called Sin. They moved from one place to another, as the Lord told them. When they arrived at Rephidim, they put up their tents there. But there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Because of this, the people quarrelled with Moses. They said, ‘Give us water to drink!’ Moses said to them, ‘You should not quarrel with me! You should not try to test the Lord !’

3 But the people needed water to drink. They complained against Moses. They said, ‘You should not have brought us out of Egypt! You will kill us and our children and our animals. We will all die, because we have no water to drink.’

4 Then Moses called to the Lord for help. He said, ‘What can I do with these people? They will soon be throwing stones at me to kill me.’

5 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take some of the leaders of the Israelites with you and go in front of the people. Take your stick in your hand. Take the stick that you used to hit the Nile river. Now go! 6 I will stand there, in front of you, by the rock at Sinai. Hit the rock with your stick, and water will come out of it. Then the people can drink.’ So Moses did this, while the leaders of the Israelites watched him.

7 Moses called that place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled there. They tried to test the Lord to see what he would do. They said, ‘Let us see if the Lord is really with us. Will he help us, or not?’ [ a ]

The Israelites fight the Amalekites

8 At Rephidim, the Amalekites came and they fought against the Israelites. 9 Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men. Then go out with them and fight against the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, and I will hold God's stick in my hand.’

10 So Joshua fought against the Amalekites. He did what Moses had told him to do. Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 When Moses lifted up his hands, the Israelites were winning in the fight. But when Moses brought his hands down, the Amalekites were winning. 12 Moses' hands became very tired. So Aaron and Hur put a big stone under Moses for him to sit on. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands. Aaron stood on one side of Moses, and Hur stood on the other side. They held his hands up, until sunset. 13 As a result, Joshua and his men destroyed the Amalekite army in the fight.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write down what happened here in a book. Then people will remember it. Read it aloud for Joshua to hear. Say that I will completely destroy all the Amalekites. Nobody in the whole world will remember them any more.’

15 Then Moses used big stones to build an altar. He called it ‘The Lord is my flag in war’. [ b ] 16 Moses said, ‘Take hold of the Lord 's flag! The Lord will always continue to fight against the Amalekites.’

Footnotes

  1. 17:7 ‘Massah’ means ‘a test’. ‘Meribah’ means ‘a quarrel’.
  2. 17:15 A flag is a large piece of cloth that someone fixes to a stick. Soldiers carry flags when they go to fight in a war. The flag is like a sign for the soldiers.

Water From the Rock

17 The Israelites left the western Sinai desert. [ a ] They traveled all together from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they turned against Moses and started arguing with him. They said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why have you turned against me? Why are you testing the Lord ?”

3 But the people were very thirsty, so they continued complaining to Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here so that we, our children, and our cattle will all die without water?”

4 So Moses cried to the Lord , “What can I do with these people? They are ready to kill me.”

5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go before the Israelites. Take some of the elders of the people with you. Carry your walking stick with you. This is the stick that you used when you hit the Nile River. 6 I will stand before you on a rock at Horeb. [ b ] Hit that rock with the walking stick and water will come out of it. Then the people can drink.”

Moses did these things and the elders of Israel saw it. 7 Moses named that place Meribah [ c ] and Massah, [ d ] because this was the place that the Israelites turned against him and tested the Lord . The people wanted to know if the Lord was with them or not.

War With the Amalekites

8 At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought against the Israelites. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on the top of the hill and watch you. I will be holding the walking stick God gave me.”

10 Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites the next day. At the same time Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 Any time Moses held his hands in the air, the men of Israel would start winning the fight. But when Moses put his hands down, the men of Israel began to lose the fight.

12 After some time, Moses’ arms became tired. So they put a large rock under Moses for him to sit on. Then Aaron and Hur held Moses’ hands in the air. Aaron was on one side of Moses and Hur was on the other side. They held his hands up like this until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua and his men defeated the Amalekites in this battle.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write about this battle. Write these things in a book so that people will remember what happened here. And be sure to tell Joshua that I will completely destroy the Amalekites from the earth.”

15 Then Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord is My Flag.” 16 Moses said, “I lifted my hands toward the Lord ’s throne. So the Lord fought against the Amalekites, as he always has.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 17:1 western Sinai desert Literally, “desert of Sin.”
  2. Exodus 17:6 Horeb Another name for Mount Sinai.
  3. Exodus 17:7 Meribah This name means “argument” or “rebellion.”
  4. Exodus 17:7 Massah This name means “trial,” “temptation,” or “test.”

17 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord , and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord ?

3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4 And Moses cried unto the Lord , saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord , saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:

16 For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Water in the Rock

17 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by [ a ] stages from the wilderness of ( A ) Sin, according to the [ b ] command of the Lord , and camped at ( B ) Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So the people ( C ) quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink!” And Moses said to them, “ ( D ) Why do you quarrel with me? ( E ) Why do you test the Lord ?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there; and [ c ] they ( F ) grumbled against Moses and said, “Why is it that you have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill [ d ] us and [ e ] our children and [ f ] ( G ) our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord , saying, “What am I to do with this people? A ( H ) little more and they will stone me!” 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of ( I ) the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which ( J ) you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at ( K ) Horeb; and ( L ) you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 Then he named the place [ g ] ( M ) Massah and [ h ] ( N ) Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they ( O ) tested the Lord , saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”

Miraculous Battle against Amalek

8 Then ( P ) Amalek came and fought against Israel at ( Q ) Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to ( R ) Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with ( S ) the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did just as Moses [ i ] told him, [ j ] and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and ( T ) Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand [ k ] down, Amalek prevailed. 12 And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur ( U ) supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 And Joshua [ l ] defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “ ( V ) Write this in [ m ] a book as a memorial and [ n ] recite it to Joshua, [ o ] that ( W ) I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an ( X ) altar and named it ( Y ) The Lord is My Banner; 16 and he said, “ [ p ] ( Z ) Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 17:1 Lit their journeyings
  2. Exodus 17:1 Lit mouth
  3. Exodus 17:3 Lit the people
  4. Exodus 17:3 Lit me
  5. Exodus 17:3 Lit my
  6. Exodus 17:3 Lit my
  7. Exodus 17:7 I.e., test
  8. Exodus 17:7 I.e., quarrel
  9. Exodus 17:10 Lit said to
  10. Exodus 17:10 Lit to fight
  11. Exodus 17:11 Lit rest
  12. Exodus 17:13 Lit weakened
  13. Exodus 17:14 Lit the book
  14. Exodus 17:14 Lit place it in the ears of
  15. Exodus 17:14 Or for
  16. Exodus 17:16 Or Because a hand is against the throne of the Lord ; lit Because a hand upon the throne of Yah

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, ( A ) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, ( B ) but there was no water ( C ) for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water ( D ) to drink.” ( E )

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” ( F )

3 But the people were thirsty ( G ) for water there, and they grumbled ( H ) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die ( I ) of thirst?”

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord , “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone ( J ) me.”

5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff ( K ) with which you struck the Nile, ( L ) and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. ( M ) Strike ( N ) the rock, and water ( O ) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah [ a ] ( P ) and Meribah [ b ] ( Q ) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

8 The Amalekites ( R ) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. ( S ) 9 Moses said to Joshua, ( T ) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff ( U ) of God in my hands.”

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur ( V ) went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, ( W ) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. ( X ) 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite ( Y ) army with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write ( Z ) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out ( AA ) the name of Amalek ( AB ) from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altar ( AC ) and called ( AD ) it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against [ c ] the throne of the Lord , [ d ] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites ( AE ) from generation to generation.” ( AF )

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
  2. Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
  3. Exodus 17:16 Or to
  4. Exodus 17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.