1The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, travelling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.2So they quarrelled 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?’3But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?’4Then Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.’5The Lord answered Moses, ‘Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.6I 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.7And he called the place Massah[1] and Meribah[2] because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’
The Amalekites defeated
8The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.9Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’10So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.11As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.12When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset.13So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.14Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.’15Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.16He said, ‘Because hands were lifted up against[3] the throne of the Lord,[4] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.’
Exodus 17
English Standard Version
Water from the Rock
1All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. (Ex 16:1; Nu 33:12; Nu 33:14)2Therefore 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?” (Nu 20:3; De 6:16; Ps 78:18; Ps 78:41; Ps 95:8; Isa 7:12; Mt 4:7; 1Co 10:9; Heb 3:8)3But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Ex 15:24; Ex 16:2)4So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” (Nu 14:10; Jos 9:25; 1Sa 30:6; 1Ki 21:13; 2Ch 24:21; Mt 23:37; Lu 13:34; Joh 8:59; Joh 10:31; Joh 11:8; Ac 7:58; Ac 14:5; Ac 14:19; 2Co 11:25; Heb 11:37)5And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. (Ex 7:20)6Behold, 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. (Nu 20:8; De 8:15; Ne 9:15; Ps 78:15; Ps 78:20; Ps 105:41; Ps 114:8; Isa 43:20; Isa 48:21; 1Co 10:4)7And he called the name of the place Massah[1] and Meribah,[2] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Nu 20:13; Ps 81:7; Ps 95:8)
Israel Defeats Amalek
8Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. (De 25:17; 1Sa 15:2)9So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” (Ex 4:20; Ex 24:13; Ex 32:17; Ex 33:11)10So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. (Ex 17:9; Ex 24:14; Ex 31:2)11Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. (1Ti 2:8)12But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. (Ex 17:10)13And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. (Ex 17:9)14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” (Ex 17:9; Nu 24:20; De 25:19; 1Sa 15:3; 1Sa 15:7; 1Sa 30:1; 1Sa 30:17; 2Sa 8:12)15And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, (Jud 6:24)16saying, “A hand upon the throne[3] of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Ex 17:14)