So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Parallel translations
- WEB The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
- KJV And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
- NKJV And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
- NASB So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
- NLT Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The people murmured against Moses, asking what they should drink.
Overview
Faced with need, the people grumble rather than trust the God who had just split the sea. Their quick complaint reveals how short-lived gratitude can be when hardship returns. The recurring murmuring exposes the unbelief God will patiently address through provision and instruction.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Exod 16:2And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
- Exod 14:11They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
- Num 20:2–5Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron.
- Ps 78:19–20They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
- Num 14:1–4Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept.
- Exod 17:3–4But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
- Num 11:1–6Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.
- Phil 2:14Do everything without complaining or arguing,
- Exod 16:8–9And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”
- Num 16:41The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
- Num 17:10The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against Me, lest they die.”
- 1 Cor 10:10And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.
- Num 21:5and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
- Num 16:11Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”
- Matt 6:25Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
- Jude 1:16These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 15:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.