Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”
Parallel Translations
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Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”
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And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
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And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said unto them: 'Hear now, ye rebels; are we to bring you forth water out of this rock?'
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Numbers 20:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 106:32-33 They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes; because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
- Genesis 40:8 They said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it.” Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Please tell it to me.”
- Genesis 41:16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
- Numbers 11:22-23 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” Yahweh said to Moses, “Has Yahweh’s hand grown short? Now you will see whether my word will happen to you or not.”
- Deuteronomy 9:24 You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you.
- Daniel 2:28-30 but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these: “As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will happen. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
- Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
- Luke 9:54-55 When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?” But he turned and rebuked them, “You don’t know of what kind of spirit you are.
- Acts 3:12-16 When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses. By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
- Acts 14:9-15 He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole, said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” He leaped up and walked. When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” They called Barnabas “Jupiter”, and Paul “Mercury”, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes. But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
- Acts 23:3-5 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law?” Those who stood by said, “Do you malign God’s high priest?” Paul said, “I didn’t know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”
- Romans 15:17-19 I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God. For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God’s Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;
- Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
- James 3:2 For we all stumble in many things. Anyone who doesn’t stumble in word is a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body also.
- 1 Corinthians 3:7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The punishment which followed hereof, declared that Moses and…
The punishment which followed hereof, declared that Moses and Aaron believed not the Lord’s promise, as appeareth, verse 12.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation…
Num 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
Ver. 10. Hear now, ye rebels.] They could hardly hear, for the belly hath no ears, and their tongues scarce knew to utter any language but that of Samson, "Give me water, or I die." {Jdg 15:18} But why did Moses speak to them, when he should have spoken to the rock only? {Num 20:8} This was ill; but worse to speak so unadvisedly. He struck at the rock, and as ready almost to split against it, he makes two arguments against it. (1.) Hear now, ye rebels, q.d., Will the Lord ever give water to such rebels? (2.) Shall we give you water out of the rock? Will that ever be done To fetch fire out of a flinty rock is far more likely; but to distil water out of it, how can that be done? Lo, Moses is staggered, and now at a stand. Adeo nihil est in nobis magnum, quod non queat minui: {a} the strongest faith much assailed, may flag and hang the wing. The best carry their treasure but in earthen vessels, which, dashing against the rock of unbelief, miseras rimas ducunt, &c., leak pitifully.
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{a} Bucolch.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his…
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice,.... At first it only brought out some drops, as Jarchi conjectures, and therefore Moses smote again, when it brought forth water plentifully: the Targum of Jonathan says,"at the first time it dropped blood, at the second time came out much water.''Could this be credited, it would make the agreement between this rock and Christ appear very manifest, from whom, when his side was pierced with a spear, there came out blood and water, Joh 19:34 for justification and sanctification. In what respect this rock was a type of Christ, as the other at Horeb, and the smiting of it an emblem of Christ being smitten with the rod of justice, according to the law of God, and of the abundance of water flowing from it, as typical of the abundance of grace, and the blessings of it, as coming through a smitten wounded Saviour; see Gill on Exo 17:6, where the same things are said of another rock as of this, and both types of Christ:
and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also; there was enough for them and their cattle; for it came out in great quantities, in large streams, so that it ran down like a river, and which gave them drink as out of the great depths, Psa 78:15, where the Psalmist makes mention of rocks in the plural number, for there were two that were smitten in two different places, and at two different times; the one was at Rephidim, the other, as here, in Kadesh; the one was in the first year of Israel's coming out of Egypt, this in the fortieth year of it; that was struck but once, this twice; of this second stone no mention is made by any traveller but one (a), who coming from Mount Sinai, says,"we passed by a large rock on our left hand, in which, as in the other rock which Moses struck with his rod, appear, from the bottom to the top, openings where water hath gushed out.''
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(a) See a Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai, 1722. p. 42, 43. Ed. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Rock. Your frequent murmurs will stop the course of…
Rock. Your frequent murmurs will stop the course of God’s bounty. If God had not condemned the conduct of his ministers on this occasion, we could hardly find any reason to blame them. But the Fathers observe, that they betrayed a want of resolution, and intended to throw the blame upon the incredulity of the people, in case they failed of success. Because they exasperated his spirit, and he distinguished with his lips, Psalm cv. 33. See St. Chrysostom and St. Augustine on this psalm. They were not commanded to strike the rock at all; and when the water did not come at first, they struck again, (Calmet) being afraid lest they should now be taken for impostors. (Haydock) --- They speak as if the work was their own. --- Can we, &c. They exasperate the people, instead of promoting their conversion. In a word, they did not glorify God, (Calmet) by representing him as the sovereign holiness and mercy; and the God of unbounded power. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain [Moses] said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must…
[Moses] said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?--The conduct of the great leader on this occasion was hasty and passionate (Psa 106:33). He had been directed to speak to the rock [Num 20:8], but he smote it twice [Num 20:11] in his impetuosity, thus endangering the blossoms of the rod, and, instead of speaking to the rock, he spoke to the people in a fury.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. Hear now, ye rebels — Moses, as a…
10. Hear now, ye rebels — Moses, as a legislator, had a right to address the seditious as rebels, and to suppress and punish them. In a proclamation made to this effect, this style of address would be admissible: “Disperse, ye rebels.” But on this occasion the execution of law is not contemplated, hence the epithet “rebels” seems to be a violation of the law of love. “Charity suffereth long and is kind.”
Must we fetch you water — The word must is not Hebrew, nor is the we emphatic: “Shall we bring water for you?” The strain of uncharitable depreciation is still kept up. Kennicott translates it, “Can we,” etc. This is admissible, since the future tense is often used for the potential mood, which is wanting in the Hebrew. (See Nord., Gram., § 993.) This shows the unbelief in the heart of Moses, with which Jehovah charges him in Num_20:12.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10, 11. As in Num_20:8, part of the narrative…
10, 11. As in Num_20:8, part of the narrative seems to have been lost. The sin which Moses and Aaron committed is not clearly defined. In Num_20:10 they appear to shew anger; and that is alluded to in Psa_106:32 f. In Num_20:11 Moses is said to have struck the rock twice. He may have been commanded to strike only once, or to raise the staff (cf. Exo_8:5) and speak to the rock without striking. Whatever his sin was, the action of Moses and Aaron in these verses hardly corresponds to the expression ‘rebelled against my word’ in Num_20:24 (cf. Num_27:14), and still less to unbelief (Num_20:12). The obscurity is increased by Deu_1:37 (cf. Num_3:26, Num_4:21), where we read that Moses was forbidden to enter Canaan on account of the people’s sin at the return of the spies, which occurred (like the present incident) at Kadesh, but 37 years earlier.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) Must we fetch you water out of this…
(10) Must we fetch you water out of this rock?—In the case of the former miracle at Rephidim the rock is spoken of only under the Hebrew word zur (Exo_17:6). Throughout the present narration the rock is invariably spoken of under the word sela. In Psa_78:15-16, where reference appears to be made to both miracles, both words are used.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Hear now, ye rebels. Septuagint, oi apeiyeiv . The…
Hear now, ye rebels. Septuagint, oi apeiyeiv . The verb is used in a similar sense of Moses and Aaron themselves in verse 24. It has been suggested that this was the word really used by our Lord in Mat_5:22, and translated mwrov . This, however, is extremely precarious, and is indeed to accuse the Evangelist of a blunder, for there is no real correspondence between the words. Must we fetch you water.
Septuagint, mh exaxomen umin udwr . And this is no doubt the sense. It has been rendered by some "Can we fetch you water," on the supposition that Moses really doubted the possibility of such a miracle, but this seems to be an entire mistake (see next note).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Must we bring water out of this rock for…
Must we bring water out of this rock for you?
Moses asks this question out of frustration to rebuke the people for complaining. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "You complain that there is no water. Well, we will make water come out of this rock." or "You would not be happy even if we caused water to come out of this rock. But I will do it anyway." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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Must we bring
Here "we" refers to Moses and Aaron and may include Yahweh, but does not include the people. (See: Exclusive and Inclusive "We")
translationWords
rebel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 20:10-12 Instead of reverently obeying God’s instructions, Moses rebuked…
20:10-12 Instead of reverently obeying God’s instructions, Moses rebuked the people (Must we bring you water from this rock?) and angrily struck the rock twice with the staff (20:11). God regarded Moses’ words and actions as a serious breach of faith; Moses “spoke foolishly” (Ps 106:32-33; cp. Jas 1:20) and did not trust God enough to demonstrate his holiness. By not doing exactly as he was told, Moses demonstrated a lack of faith in God to provide for his people. This lack of faith is also apparent in Moses’ words to the people. The Lord requires obedience and faith; anything less is an affront to his holy character (Num 20:24; 27:14). Such serious lack of obedience and faith had the same result as it had earlier (14:20-23; see also 1 Cor 10:4-12).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.