EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 17:2
2Because of this, the people quarrelled with Moses. They said, ‘Give us water to drink!’ Moses said to them, ‘You should not quarrel with me! You should not try to test the Lord!’
Exodus 17:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
- New International Version (NIV)So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”
Context of Exodus 17:2
1Then all the Israelites continued to travel on from the desert called Sin. They moved from one place to another, as the Lord told them. When they arrived at Rephidim, they put up their tents there. But there was no water for the people to drink. Because of this, the people quarrelled with Moses. They said, ‘Give us water to drink!’ Moses said to them, ‘You should not quarrel with me! You should not try to test the Lord!’ 3But the people needed water to drink. They complained against Moses. They said, ‘You should not have brought us out of Egypt! You will kill us and our children and our animals. We will all die, because we have no water to drink.’ 4Then Moses called to the Lord for help. He said, ‘What can I do with these people? They will soon be throwing stones at me to kill me.’
Read all of Exodus 17Exodus 17:2 word by word
וַיָּ֤רֶב הָעָם֙ עִם־מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ תְּנוּ־לָ֥נוּ מַ֖יִם וְנִשְׁתֶּ֑ה וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה מַה־תְּרִיבוּן֙ עִמָּדִ֔י מַה־תְּנַסּ֖וּן אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Wherefore the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- did chideרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
- with Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- us waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- that we may drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- ye with me? wherefore do ye temptנָסָהnâsâh · to testH5254
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Exodus 17:2
- Exodus 5:21The work leaders said to Moses and Aaron, ‘We hope that the Lord will punish you! You have made us like a bad smell to Pharaoh and to his officers. You have given them a reason to kill us.’
- Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, ‘Why have you brought us here, to die in the desert? Surely there were enough places in Egypt to bury dead people! You should never have brought us out of Egypt!
- Exodus 15:24Then the people complained. They spoke against Moses. They said, ‘There is nothing for us to drink!’
- Exodus 16:2When they were in the desert, all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron.
- Numbers 11:4Some foreign people were travelling with the Israelites. Those people wanted very much to eat better food. So the Israelites wept again. They said, ‘We want meat to eat!
- Numbers 14:2All the Israelites spoke bad words against Moses and Aaron. All the people said to them, ‘We would rather have died in Egypt, or even in this desert!
- Numbers 20:3They said to Moses, ‘We would rather be dead! When the Lord killed our brothers, he should have killed us too.
- Numbers 21:5They complained to God and to Moses, ‘You should not have brought us from Egypt to die here in the desert. There is nothing to eat. There is no water to drink. We do not like this bad food, manna.’
- Genesis 30:1Rachel now knew that she could not give birth to any children for Jacob. So she became jealous of her sister. Rachel said to Jacob, ‘Please give me children. If not, I will die.’
- 1 Samuel 8:6When Israel's leaders said, ‘Choose a king who will lead us,’ Samuel was not happy. So he prayed to the Lord.
- Luke 15:12The younger son went to his father and said to him, “Father, please give me now my part of your things.” So the father gave both sons the part of his things that each of them should have.
- Exodus 17:7Moses called that place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled there. They tried to test the Lord to see what he would do. They said, ‘Let us see if the Lord is really with us. Will he help us, or not?’
- Numbers 14:22All these people have seen my glory. They have seen the miracles that I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they have tested me many times now to see if I would punish them. They still do not obey me.
- Deuteronomy 6:16Do not test the Lord your God, to see what he will do. That is what you did at Massah.
- Psalms 78:18They decided to test God, to see what he would do. They demanded to have the food that they liked best.
- Psalms 95:9Your ancestors tested me there, to see if I would punish them. But they had already seen the great things that I had done for them!
Commentaries on Exodus 17:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Why chide ye with me? - God is your leader, complain to him; Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? As he is your leader, all your murmurings against me he considers as directed against himself; why therefore do ye tempt him? Has he not given you sufficient proofs that he can destroy his enemies and support his friends? And is he not among you to do you good? Exodus 17:7. Why therefore do ye doubt his power and goodness, and thus provoke him to treat you as his…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Tempt the Lord - It is a general characteristic of the Israelites that the miracles, which met each need as it arose, failed to produce a habit of faith: but the severity of the trial, the faintness and anguish of thirst in the burning desert, must not be overlooked in appreciating their conduct.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2test the LORD: This is explained in 17:7. The people doubted that God was with them. They questioned whether he cared for them. They demanded proof that he was present and would help them. There is a kind of testing that comes from faith. A person may believe, yet still struggle with doubt (“I do believe; help my unbelief,” Mark 9:24). This is a humble request for help. But there is also a test that comes from unbelief (“so that we may see it and believe…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink, &c.--The want of water was a privation, the severity of which we cannot estimate, and it was a great trial to the Israelites, but their conduct on this new occasion was outrageous; it amounted even to "a tempting of the Lord." It was an opposition to His minister, a distrust of His care, an indifference to His kindness, an unbelief in His providence, a trying of His patience…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 17:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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