Exodus 17
Easy-to-Read Version
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
- Exodus 17:1 western Sinai desert Literally, “desert of Sin.”
- Exodus 17:6 Horeb Another name for Mount Sinai.
- Exodus 17:7 Meribah This name means “argument” or “rebellion.”
- Exodus 17:7 Massah This name means “trial,” “temptation,” or “test.”
Exodus 17
King James Version
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.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International