Exodus 15:23

Exodus 15:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
• New International Version (NIV)When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)
• English Standard Version (ESV)When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

Context of Exodus 15:23

21Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.” 22Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the Desert of Shur, walked for three days into the desert, and found no water. Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.) 24So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What can we drink?” 25He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord made for them a binding ordinance, and there he tested them.

Exodus 15:23 word by word

וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ מָרָ֔תָה וְלֹ֣א יָֽכְל֗וּ לִשְׁתֹּ֥ת מַ֙יִם֙ מִמָּרָ֔ה כִּ֥י מָרִ֖ים הֵ֑ם עַל־כֵּ֥ן קָרָֽא־שְׁמָ֖הּ מָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when they cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to Marahמָרָהmârâh · MarahH4785
• they couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• not drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• of the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• bitterמַרmar mârâh · bitterH4751
• therefore the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• of it was calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121

Cross-references for Exodus 15:23

• Numbers 33:8They traveled from Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped in Marah.
• Ruth 1:20But she replied to them, “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! Call me ‘Mara’ because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly.

Commentaries on Exodus 15:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Marah - So called from the bitter waters found there. Dr. Shaw conjectures that this place is the same as that now called Corondel, where there is still a small rill which, if not diluted with dews or rain, continues brackish. See his account at the end of Exodus ( Exodus 40:38; (note)).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Marah - Now identified with the fount of Huwara. The fountain rises from a large mound, a whitish petrifaction, deposited by the water, and is considered by the Arabians to be the worst in the whole district.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. 23The water likely had a high level of natural minerals, which made it taste bitter. This is common in the Sinai Desert.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters--Following the general route of all travellers southward, between the sea and the tableland of the Tih ("valley of wandering"), Marah is almost universally believed to be what is now called Howarah, in Wady Amarah, about thirty miles from the place where the Israelites landed on the eastern shore of the Red Sea--a distance quite sufficient for their march of three days. There is no other…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 15:23

• Bitter Water
• Israel
• Marah
• Murmuring
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• Cherub
• Chosen
• Exalt
• Fall
• Fearful
• Gloriously
• Hold
• Holiness
• Lust
• Marah

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