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17 And all the assembly of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, according to their journeys, at the command of Jehovah; and they encamped in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

And the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water, that we may drink! And Moses said to them, Why do ye dispute with me? Why do ye tempt Jehovah?

And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Why is it that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

And Moses cried to Jehovah, saying, What shall I do with this people? Yet a little, and they will stone me!

And Jehovah said to Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy staff with which thou didst smite the river, take in thy hand, and go.

Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock on Horeb; and thou shalt strike the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so before the eyes of the elders of Israel.

And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they had tempted Jehovah, saying, Is Jehovah among us, or not?

And Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us men, and go out, fight with Amalek; to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.

10 And Joshua did as Moses had said to him, to fight with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And it came to pass when Moses raised his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 And Moses' hands were heavy; then they took a stone, and put [it] under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on this side, and one on that side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13 And Joshua broke the power of Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 And Jehovah said to Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in the book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens.

15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi.

16 And he said, For the hand is on the throne of Jah; Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation!

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,(A) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,(B) but there was no water(C) for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water(D) to drink.”(E)

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

But the people were thirsty(G) for water there, and they grumbled(H) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die(I) of thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone(J) me.”

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 staff(K) with which you struck the Nile,(L) and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.(M) Strike(N) the rock, and water(O) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah[a](P) and Meribah[b](Q) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

The Amalekites(R) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.(S) Moses said to Joshua,(T) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff(U) of God in my hands.”

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur(V) went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,(W) 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.(X) 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite(Y) army with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write(Z) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out(AA) the name of Amalek(AB) from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altar(AC) and called(AD) it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against[c] the throne of the Lord,[d] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites(AE) from generation to generation.”(AF)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
  2. Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
  3. Exodus 17:16 Or to
  4. Exodus 17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.