Bible Gateway passage: Exodus 17 - New International Version (2024)

Water From the Rock

17The 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. ²So 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)

³But 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?”

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

⁵The 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. ⁶I 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. ⁷And 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

⁸The 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.”

¹⁰So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur^(V) went to the top of the hill. ¹¹As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,^(W) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹²When 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.

¹⁴Then 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.”

¹⁵Moses built an altar^(AC) and called^(AD) it The Lord is my Banner. ¹⁶He 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.

Cross references

1. Exodus 17:1 : S Ex 16:1
2. Exodus 17:1 : ver 8; Ex 19:2; Nu 33:15
3. Exodus 17:1 : Nu 20:5; 21:5; 33:14
4. Exodus 17:2 : Nu 20:2; 33:14; Ps 107:5
5. Exodus 17:2 : S Ex 14:12
6. Exodus 17:2 : Dt 6:16; Ps 78:18, 41; 106:14; Mt 4:7; 1Co 10:9
7. Exodus 17:3 : S Ex 15:22
8. Exodus 17:3 : S Ex 15:24
9. Exodus 17:3 : S Ex 14:11
10. Exodus 17:4 : Nu 14:10; 1Sa 30:6; S Jn 8:59
11. Exodus 17:5 : S Ex 4:2; S 10:12-13
12. Exodus 17:5 : Ex 7:20
13. Exodus 17:6 : S Ex 3:1
14. Exodus 17:6 : Nu 20:8
15. Exodus 17:6 : Nu 20:11; Dt 8:15; Jdg 15:19; 2Ki 3:20; Ne 9:15; Ps 74:15; 78:15-16; 105:41; 107:35; 114:8; Isa 30:25; 35:6; 43:19; 48:21; 1Co 10:4
16. Exodus 17:7 : Dt 6:16; 9:22; 33:8; Ps 95:8
17. Exodus 17:7 : Nu 20:13, 24; 27:14; Ps 81:7; 106:32
18. Exodus 17:8 : S Ge 36:12
19. Exodus 17:8 : S ver 1
20. Exodus 17:9 : Ex 24:13; 32:17; 33:11; Nu 11:28; 27:22; Dt 1:38; Jos 1:1; Ac 7:45
21. Exodus 17:9 : S Ex 4:17
22. Exodus 17:10 : ver 10-12; Ex 24:14; 31:2
23. Exodus 17:11 : Jas 5:16
24. Exodus 17:12 : Jos 8:26
25. Exodus 17:13 : ver 8
26. Exodus 17:14 : Ex 24:4; 34:27; Nu 33:2; Dt 31:9; Job 19:23; Isa 30:8; Jer 36:2; 45:1; 51:60
27. Exodus 17:14 : Ex 32:33; Dt 29:20; Job 18:17; Ps 9:5; 34:16; 109:15; Eze 18:4
28. Exodus 17:14 : ver 13; S Ge 36:12; Nu 24:7; Jdg 3:13; 1Sa 30:17-18; Ps 83:7
29. Exodus 17:15 : S Ge 8:20
30. Exodus 17:15 : S Ge 22:14
31. Exodus 17:16 : Nu 24:7; 1Sa 15:8, 32; 1Ch 4:43; Est 3:1; 8:3; 9:24
32. Exodus 17:16 : Est 9:5