17The whole Israelite community left the Desert of Sin and traveled from place to place, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. ²So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

³But the people were very thirsty for water, so they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children, and our farm animals with thirst?”

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

⁵The Lord said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Carry with you the walking stick that you used to strike the Nile River. Now go! ⁶I will stand in front of you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Hit that rock with the stick, and water will come out of it so that the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the elders of Israel watched. ⁷He named that place Massah, ⁿ because the Israelites tested the Lord when they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” He also named it Meribah, ⁿ because they quarreled.

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Footnotes

nMassah This name is the Hebrew word for “testing.”
nMeribah This name is the Hebrew word for “quarrel.”