New American Standard Bible 2020
Exodus 17:2
2So the people 1quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink!” And Moses said to them, “2Why do you quarrel with me? 3Why 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?”
- 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 congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. So the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink!” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3But the people were thirsty for water there; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why is it that you have brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What am I to do with this people? A little more and they will 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
- So the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- quarreledרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
- with Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- us waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- so that we may drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- Whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
- do you testנָסָהnâsâh · to testH5254
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Exodus 17:2
- Exodus 5:21And they said to them, “May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!”
- Exodus 14:11Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?
- Exodus 15:24So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
- Exodus 16:2But the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
- Numbers 11:4Now the rabble who were among them had greedy cravings; and the sons of Israel also wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?
- Numbers 14:2And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness!
- Numbers 20:3Then the people argued with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!
- Numbers 21:5So the people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we are disgusted with this miserable food.”
- Genesis 30:1Now when Rachel saw that she had not borne Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I am going to die.”
- 1 Samuel 8:6But the matter was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
- Luke 15:12The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’ And so he divided his wealth between them.
- Exodus 17:7Then he named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
- Numbers 14:22Certainly all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,
- Deuteronomy 6:16“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.
- Psalms 78:18And in their heart they put God to the test By asking for food that suited their taste.
- Psalms 95:9“When your fathers put Me to the test, They tested Me, 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
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries