1 Then all the Israelites left the Desert of Sin, going from place to place as they followed the Lord’s commands. They camped at Rephidim, but there wasn’t any water for the people to drink. 2 Some of them came and complained to Moses, saying, "Give us water to drink!"
"Why are you complaining to me?" Moses asked. "Why are you trying to challenge the Lord?"
3 But the people were so thirsty for water there that they went on complaining to Moses, saying, "Why did you have to bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us and our children and livestock by thirst?"
4 Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I going to do with these people? A bit more of this and they’re going to stone me!"
5 The Lord told Moses, "Go ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take with you the walking stick you used to hit the Nile, and just go on ahead. 6 Look, I will stand there beside you by the rock at Horeb. When you hit the rock water will pour out for the people to drink." So Moses did this as the elders of Israel watched. 7 He called the place Massah and Meribah17:7. Massah means "testing" and Meribah means "complaining." because the Israelites argued there, and because they challenged the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord with us, or not?"