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?”
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?
- 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?”
- 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 Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
- Matt 5:22But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
- Rom 15:17–19I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God.
- Dan 2:28–30but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:
- Acts 14:9–15He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole,
- Gen 41:16Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
- Luke 9:54–55When 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?”
- Eph 4:26“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
- Acts 3:12–16When 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?
- Jas 3:2For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn’t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.
- Deut 9:24You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you.
- Num 11:22–23Shall 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?”
- Gen 40:8They 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.”
- Acts 23:3–5Then 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?”
- 1 Cor 3:7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives 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.