Exodus 17

Water from the Rock

1 aAll 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. 2 bTherefore 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 ctest the Lord?” 3But the people thirsted there for water, and dthe 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?” 4So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready eto stone me.” 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 fwhich you struck the Nile, and go. 6 gBehold, 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. 7And he called the name of the place hMassah
 Massah means testing
and jMeribah,
 Meribah means quarreling
because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Israel Defeats Amalek

8 lThen Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9So Moses said to mJoshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with nthe staff of God in my hand.” 10So oJoshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and pHur went up to the top of the hill. 11Whenever Moses qheld up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moseshands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and rHur 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. 13And sJoshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of tJoshua, that uI will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15And Moses vbuilt an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16saying, “A hand upon the throne
A slight change would yield  upon the banner
of the Lord! xThe Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

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