He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
Parallel translations
- WEB He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places.
- KJV He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
- NKJV He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.
- NASB He opened the rock and water flowed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.
- NLT He split open a rock, and water gushed out to form a river through the dry wasteland.
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
God opened the rock and water gushed out, flowing like a river in the desert. It matters because He gave abundant life-sustaining water in a barren place.
Overview
This recalls God providing water from the rock at Israel's need (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11). The water ran like a river through dry ground, a picture of overflowing grace. Paul writes that the rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4), the source of living water for His thirsty people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Cor 10:4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- Num 20:11Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.
- Exod 17:6Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- Isa 48:21They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.
- Ps 78:15–16He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
- Ps 114:8who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!
- Ps 78:20When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
- Neh 9:15In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 105:41 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.