New Living Translation
Exodus 15:25
25So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him.
Exodus 15:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
- New International Version (NIV)Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
- New King James Version (NKJV)So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,
Context of Exodus 15:25
23When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). 24Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. 26He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” 27After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.
Read all of Exodus 15Exodus 15:25 word by word
וַיִּצְעַ֣ק אֶל־יְהוָ֗ה וַיּוֹרֵ֤הוּ יְהוָה֙ עֵ֔ץ וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ֙ אֶל־הַמַּ֔יִם וַֽיִּמְתְּק֖וּ הַמָּ֑יִם שָׁ֣ם שָׂ֥ם ל֛וֹ חֹ֥ק וּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט וְשָׁ֥ם נִסָּֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he criedצָעַקtsâ‛aq · to cryH6817
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- shewedיָרָהyârâh yârâ' · to showH3384
- him a treeעֵץ‛êts · tree: stickH6086
- when he had castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
- into the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- were made sweetמָתֹקmâthaq · be sweetH4985
- there he madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- for them a statuteחֹקchôq · statute: decreeH2706
- and an ordinanceמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
- and there he provedנָסָהnâsâh · to testH5254
Cross-references for Exodus 15:25
- Exodus 14:10As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord,
- Exodus 17:4Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”
- Psalms 50:15Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
- Psalms 91:15When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.
- Psalms 99:6Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel also called on his name. They cried to the Lord for help, and he answered them.
- Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!
- 2 Kings 2:21Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.”
- 2 Kings 4:41Elisha said, “Bring me some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now it’s all right; go ahead and eat.” And then it did not harm them.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.
- Joshua 24:21But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
- Exodus 16:4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.
- Deuteronomy 8:2Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.
- Deuteronomy 13:3do not listen to them. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul.
- Judges 2:22I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the Lord as their ancestors did.”
- Judges 3:1These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan.
- Psalms 66:10You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver.
Commentaries on Exodus 15:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25He cried unto the Lord - Moses was not only their leader, but also their mediator. Of prayer and dependence on the Almighty, the great mass of the Israelites appear to have had little knowledge at this time. Moses, therefore, had much to bear from their weakness, and the merciful Lord was long-suffering. The Lord showed him a tree - What this tree was we know not: some think that the tree was extremely bitter itself, such as the quassia; and that God…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25A tree - The statement points to a natural agency, but the result was manifestly supernatural. He made - The Lord then set before them the fundamental principle of implicit trust, to be shown by obedience. The healing of the water was a symbol of deliverance from physical and spiritual evils.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. 25See 2 Kings 2:19–22 for a similar event.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet--Some travellers have pronounced this to be the Elvah of the Arabs--a shrub in form and flower resembling our hawthorn; others, the berries of the Ghurkhud--a bush found growing around all brackish fountains. But neither of these shrubs are known by the natives to possess such natural virtues. It is far more likely that God miraculously endowed some tree…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 15:25
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
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