New Living Translation
Exodus 17:6
6I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.
Exodus 17:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- New International Version (NIV)I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Context of Exodus 17:6
4Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!” 5The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on. 7Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” 8While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.
Read all of Exodus 17Exodus 17:6 word by word
הִנְנִ֣י עֹמֵד֩ לְפָנֶ֨יךָ שָּׁ֥ם׀ עַֽל־הַצּוּר֮ בְּחֹרֵב֒ וְהִכִּ֣יתָ בַצּ֗וּר וְיָצְא֥וּ מִמֶּ֛נּוּ מַ֖יִם וְשָׁתָ֣ה הָעָ֑ם וַיַּ֤עַשׂ כֵּן֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה לְעֵינֵ֖י זִקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Behold, I will standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- thee there upon the rockצוּרtsûr tsûr · rockH6697
- in Horebחֹרֵבchôrêb · HorebH2722
- and thou shalt smiteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
- and there shall comeיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- out of it, that the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- may drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- so in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
- of the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Cross-references for Exodus 17:6
- Exodus 16:10And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
- Exodus 17:10So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.
- Exodus 17:12Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.
- Exodus 3:1One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.
- Numbers 20:9So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 8:15Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock!
- Nehemiah 9:15“You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them.
- Psalms 78:15He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring.
- Psalms 105:41He split open a rock, and water gushed out to form a river through the dry wasteland.
- Psalms 114:8He turned the rock into a pool of water; yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.
- Isaiah 48:21They were not thirsty when he led them through the desert. He divided the rock, and water gushed out for them to drink.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.
- Psalms 46:4A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
- Isaiah 41:17“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
- Isaiah 43:19For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
- John 4:10Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
Commentaries on Exodus 17:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6I will stand before thee there, upon the rock in Horeb - The rock, הצור hatstsur . It seems as if God had directed the attention of Moses to a particular rock, with which he was well acquainted; for every part of the mount and its vicinity must have been well known to Moses during the time he kept Jethro's flocks in those quarters. Dr. Priestley has left the following sensible observations upon this miracle: - "The luminous cloud, the symbol of the Divine…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The rock in Horeb - (a rock situated, according to Arab tradition, in Wady Feiran. Horeb was a name given to the whole desert of Sinai and subsequently attached to the mountain. Palmer). It is questioned whether the water thus supplied ceased with the immediate occasion; see 1 Corinthians 10:4, the general meaning of which appears to be that their wants were ever supplied from Him, of whom the rock was but a symbol, and who accompanied them in all their…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Mount Sinai: See study note on 3:1. water will come out of it: Note the similar way God provided for the people in Numbers 20:11 (see also Psalms 78:15–16; 105:41; 114:8; Isaiah 48:21).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-71. the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin--In the succinct annals of this book, those places only are selected for particular notice by the inspired historian, which were scenes memorable for their happy or painful interest in the history of the Israelites. A more detailed itinerary is given in the later books of Moses, and we find that here two stations are omitted (Nu 33:1-56). according to the commandment of the Lord, &c.--not…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 17:6
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries