²²Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of ^aShur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³When they came to ^bMarah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.² ²⁴And the people ^cgrumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵And he ^dcried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,³ and he ^ethrew it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord⁴ made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ^ftested them, ²⁶saying, ^g“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the ^hdiseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, ⁱyour healer.”

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Footnotes

2Marah means bitterness
3Or tree
4Hebrew he

Cross references

a Gen. 16:7; 25:18; 1 Sam. 15:7
b[Ruth 1:20]
cch. 16:2; 17:3
dch. 14:10; 17:4
e[2 Kgs. 2:21; 4:41]
fch. 16:4; Deut. 8:2, 16; Judg. 2:22; 3:1, 4; Ps. 66:10
gSee Lev. 26:3–13; Deut. 7:12–15
h Deut. 28:27, 60
ich. 23:25; Ps. 103:3; 147:3; Hos. 6:1

In other versions

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water. They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter—that is why it was named Marah. The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink?” So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable.

The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there. He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).

Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.

It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Moses caused Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went out into the desert of Shur, and they traveled three days in the desert, and they did not find water. And they came to Marah, and they were not able to drink water from Marah because it was bitter. Therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a piece of wood, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There he made a rule and regulation for them, and there he tested them. And he said, “If you carefully listen to the voice of Yahweh your God and you do what is right in his eyes and give heed to his commands and you keep all his rules, then I will not bring about on you any of the diseases that I brought about on Egypt, because I am Yahweh your healer.

KJV 1900King James Version

So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

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