Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”
Parallel translations
- WEB 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?”
- KJV 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?
- NKJV And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
- NASB and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”
- NLT Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?”
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
Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly, and Moses angrily called them rebels and asked if 'we' must bring water from the rock. His words betrayed anger and seemed to claim credit for himself.
Overview
Rather than speaking to the rock as told, Moses addresses the people in exasperation, and his 'shall we bring water' obscures that it is God who provides. The harsh, self-focused tone misrepresents the patient God he serves. This moment of pride and unbelief sets up the discipline God will announce, warning leaders to represent God faithfully.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 106:32–33At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them.
- Matt 5:22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.
- Rom 15:17–19Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
- Dan 2:28–30But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:
- Acts 14:9–15This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed.
- Gen 41:16“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
- Luke 9:54–55When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
- Eph 4:26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
- Acts 3:12–16And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
- Jas 3:2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
- Deut 9:24You have been rebelling against the LORD since the day I came to know you.
- Num 11:22–23If all our flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”
- Gen 40:8“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
- Acts 23:3–5Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”
- 1 Cor 3:7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 20:10 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.