Water from the Rock

1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was ^vno water for the people to drink. 2 ^wTherefore the people ^xquarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to ^ydrink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you ^ztest the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people ^agrumbled against Moses and said, ^b“Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready ^cto stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff ^dwith which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 ^eBehold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and ^fwater shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah¹ and Meribah,² because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Bitter Water Made Sweet

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went ^kinto the ^lwilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found ^mno water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.¹ 24 And the people ⁿgrumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,² and he ^othrew it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord³ made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ^ptested them, 26 saying, ^q“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, ^rI will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your ^shealer.”

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

The Waters of Meribah

2 ⁿNow there was ^ono water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together ^pagainst Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people ^qquarreled with Moses and said, ^r“Would that we had perished ^swhen our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 ^tWhy have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? ^uIt is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^vfell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord ^wappeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and ^xtell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff ^yfrom before the Lord, as he commanded him.

Moses Strikes the Rock

10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you ^zrebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation ^adrank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ^b“Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of ^cMeribah,¹ where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he ^dshowed himself holy.

The Bronze Serpent

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, ^yto go around the land of Edom. ^zAnd the people became impatient on the way. 5 And ^athe people spoke against God and against Moses, ^b“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ^cwe loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent ^dfiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. ^ePray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 ^fAnd the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a ^gbronze¹ serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.