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?
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?”
- BSB 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?”
- 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 106:32–33They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
- Matt 5:22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
- Rom 15:17–19I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
- Dan 2:28–30But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
- Acts 14:9–15The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
- Gen 41:16And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
- Luke 9:54–55And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
- Eph 4:26Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
- Acts 3:12–16And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
- Jas 3:2For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
- Deut 9:24Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.
- Num 11:22–23Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
- Gen 40:8And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
- Acts 23:3–5Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
- 1 Cor 3:7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
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.