English Standard Version
Exodus 17:2
2Therefore 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?"
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?”
- 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?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”
Context of Exodus 17:2
1All 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 no water for the people to drink. 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?" 3But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 4So Moses cried to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone 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 5:21and they said to them, "The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
- Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
- Exodus 15:24And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
- Exodus 16:2And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,
- Numbers 11:4Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat!
- Numbers 14:2And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
- Numbers 20:3And the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!
- Numbers 21:5And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food."
- Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!"
- 1 Samuel 8:6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
- Luke 15:12And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them.
- Exodus 17:7And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
- Numbers 14:22none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,
- Deuteronomy 6:16"You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.
- Psalms 78:18They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.
- Psalms 95:9when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
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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