God’s Word Translation
Exodus 15:24
24The people complained about Moses by asking, “What are we supposed to drink?”
Exodus 15:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
- New International Version (NIV)So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
Context of Exodus 15:24
22Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink the water because it tasted bitter. That’s why the place was called Marah [Bitter Place]. The people complained about Moses by asking, “What are we supposed to drink?” 25Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord set down laws and rules for them to live by, and there he tested them. 26He said, “If you will listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer, because I am the Lord, who heals you.”
Read all of Exodus 15Exodus 15:24 word by word
וַיִּלֹּ֧נוּ הָעָ֛ם עַל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹ֖ר מַה־נִּשְׁתֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 15:24
- Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt!
- Exodus 16:2In the desert the whole community complained about Moses and Aaron.
- Exodus 17:3But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses and asked, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to make us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?”
- Numbers 11:1The people began complaining out loud to the Lord about their troubles. When the Lord heard them, he became angry, and fire from the Lord began to burn among them. It destroyed some people on the outskirts of the camp.
- Numbers 14:1Then all the people in the Israelite community raised their voices and cried out loud all that night.
- Numbers 16:11So you and all your followers have joined forces against the Lord! Who is Aaron that you should complain about him?”
- Numbers 17:10The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the words of my promise, and keep it there as a sign to warn any other rebels. Then you will stop their complaints about me, and they won’t die.”
- Numbers 20:2Since the community was without water, they came together to confront Moses and Aaron.
- Numbers 21:5and criticized God and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!”
- 1 Corinthians 10:10Don’t complain as some of them did. The angel of death destroyed them.
- Philippians 2:14Do everything without complaining or arguing.
- Jude 1:16These people complain, find fault, follow their own desires, say arrogant things, and flatter people in order to take advantage of them.
- Psalms 78:19They spoke against God by saying, “Can God prepare a banquet in the desert?
- Matthew 6:25“So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?
Commentaries on Exodus 15:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24The people murmured - They were in a state of great mental degradation, owing to their long and oppressive vassalage, and had no firmness of character. See Clarke's note on Exodus 13:17.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-27Verses 22-27 In the wilderness of Shur the Israelites had no water. At Marah they had water, but it was bitter; so that they could not drink it. God can make bitter to us that from which we promise ourselves most, and often does so in the wilderness of this world, that our wants, and disappointments in the creature, may drive us to the Creator, in whose favour alone true comfort is to be had. In this distress the people fretted, and quarrelled with Moses…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24Instead of thinking about recent lessons in faith, the people lost hope and started to complain, as is often the case in difficult times. If complaining becomes a habit, it can lead to failure in the ultimate test, as it did for the Israelites (see Numbers 14; Psalm 95:7–11; Hebrews 3:7–11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-271. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel--The scene of this thanksgiving song is supposed to have been at the landing place on the eastern shore of the Red Sea, at Ayoun Musa, "the fountains of Moses." They are situated somewhat farther northward along the shore than the opposite point from which the Israelites set out. But the line of the people would be extended during the passage, and one extremity of it would reach as far north as these…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 15:24
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 15
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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