Exodus 17:3

3 So the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, Why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?

Exodus 17:3 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 17:3

And the people thirsted there for water
They saw there was no water when they first came thither, and therefore chid Moses for bringing them to such a place, where they could not subsist; and having stayed some little time here, and all the water they brought with them from Alush being spent, and having none to drink, began to be very thirsty:

and the people murmured against Moses;
became more impatient and enraged, and threw out their invectives against him with much acrimony and severity:

wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt?
where it would have been much better for us to have continued:

to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst:
which is intolerable to any, and especially to children and cattle, which require frequent drinking: they could not suppose that Moses had such a murderous view in bringing them out of Egypt, or that this was his intention in it, but that this would be the issue and event of it.

Exodus 17:3 In-Context

1 And all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and set up camp in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 And the people chided with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Why do ye tempt the LORD?
3 So the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, Why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?
4 Then Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.
5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy rod, with which thou didst smite the river take in thine hand and go.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010