Exodus 17:1–16

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,d traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,e but there was no waterf for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us waterg to drink.”h

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

3 But the people were thirstyj for water there, and they grumbledk against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock diel of thirst?”

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stonem 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 staffn with which you struck the Nile,o and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.p Strikeq the rock, and waterr 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 Massaha s and Meribahb t because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

8 The Amalekitesu came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.v 9 Moses said to Joshua,w “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staffx of God in my hands.”

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hury went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,z 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.a 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekiteb army with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Writec this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot outd the name of Amaleke from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altarf and calledg it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up againstc the throne of the Lord,d the Lord will be at war against the Amalekitesh from generation to generation.”i

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d	Ex 16:1
e	Ex 16:8 Ex 19:2 Nu 33:15
f	Nu 20:5 Nu 21:5 Nu 33:14
g	Nu 20:2 Nu 33:14 Ps 107:5
h	Ex 14:12
i	Dt 6:16 Ps 78:18 Ps 78:41 Ps 106:14 Mt 4:7 1 Co 10:9
j	Ex 15:22
k	Ex 15:24
l	Ex 14:11
m	Nu 14:10 1 Sa 30:6 Jn 8:59
n	Ex 4:2 Ex 10:12–13
o	Ex 7:20
p	Ex 3:1
q	Nu 20:8
r	Nu 20:11 Dt 8:15 Jdg 15:19 2 Ki 3:20 Ne 9:15 Ps 74:15 Ps 78:15–16 Ps 105:41 Ps 107:35 Ps 114:8 Is 30:25 Is 35:6 Is 43:19 Is 48:21 1 Co 10:4
a	Massah means testing.
s	Dt 6:16 Dt 9:22 Dt 33:8 Ps 95:8
b	Meribah means quarreling.
t	Nu 20:13 Nu 20:24 Nu 27:14 Ps 81:7 Ps 106:32
u	Ge 36:12
v	Ex 17:1
w	Ex 24:13 Ex 32:17 Ex 33:11 Nu 11:28 Nu 27:22 Dt 1:38 Jos 1:1 Ac 7:45
x	Ex 4:17
y	Ex 17:10–12 Ex 24:14 Ex 31:2
z	Jas 5:16
a	Jos 8:26
b	Ex 17:8
c	Ex 24:4 Ex 34:27 Nu 33:2 Dt 31:9 Job 19:23 Is 30:8 Je 36:2 Je 45:1 Je 51:60
d	Ex 32:33 Dt 29:20 Job 18:17 Ps 9:5 Ps 34:16 Ps 109:15 Eze 18:4
e	Ex 17:13 Ge 36:12 Nu 24:7 Jdg 3:13 1 Sa 30:17–18 Ps 83:7
f	Ge 8:20
g	Ge 22:14
c	Or to
d	The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
h	Nu 24:7 1 Sa 15:8 1 Sa 15:32 1 Ch 4:43 Es 3:1 Es 8:3 Es 9:24
i	Es 9:5