Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)So the people argued with Mosheh again, saying, “Give us water to drink!” ¶ “Why are you all quarrelling with me?” Mosheh answered. “Why are you all testing Yahweh?”
Key: khaki:verbs, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΚαὶ ἐλοιδορεῖτο ὁ λαὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν, λέγοντες, δὸς ἡμῖν ὕδωρ, ἵνα πίωμεν· καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς, τί λοιδορεῖσθέ μοι, καὶ τί πειράζετε Κύριον; (Kai eloidoreito ho laos pros Mōusaʸn, legontes, dos haʸmin hudōr, hina piōmen; kai eipen autois Mōusaʸs, ti loidoreisthe moi, kai ti peirazete Kurion; )
BrTrAnd the people reviled Moses, saying, Give us water, that we may drink; and Moses said to them, Why do ye revile me, and why tempt ye the Lord?
ULTAnd the people quarreled with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink.” ¶ And Moses said to them, “Why are you quarreling with me? Why do you test Yahweh?”
USTSo the people complained to Moses again, saying, “Give us water to drink!” ¶ Moses replied to them, “You should not quarrel with me! You should not test Yahweh!”
BSBSo the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” § “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”
WEBBETherefore the people quarrelled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” ¶ Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
NETSo the people contended with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!” Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
LSVand the people strive with Moses, and say, “Give us water, and we drink.” And Moses says to them, “Why do you strive with me? Why do you try YHWH?”
FBVSome of them came and complained to Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink!” Moses replied, ¶ “Why are you complaining to me?” Moses asked. “Why are you trying to challenge the Lord?”
T4TSo the people complained to Moses/me again, saying, “Give us water to drink!” Moses/I replied to them, “Why are you ◄criticizing/arguing with► me [RHQ]? And why are you trying to determine whether Yahweh has the power to provide for you?”
LEBAnd the people quarreled with Moses, and they said, “Give us water so that we can drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh?”
BBESo the people were angry with Moses, and said, Give us water for drinking. And Moses said, Why are you angry with me? and why do you put God to the test?
JPSWherefore the people strove with Moses, and said: 'Give us water that we may drink.' And Moses said unto them: 'Why strive ye with me? wherefore do ye try the LORD?'
ASVWherefore the people strove with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why strive ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt Jehovah?
DRAAnd they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses answered them: Why chide you with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?
YLTand the people strive with Moses, and say, 'Give us water, and we drink.' And Moses saith to them, 'What? — ye strive with me, what? — ye try Jehovah?'
DrbyAnd the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water, that we may drink! And Moses said to them, Why do ye dispute with me? Why do ye tempt Jehovah?
RVWherefore the people strove with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why strive ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
WbstrWherefore the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why chide you with me? why do ye tempt the LORD?
KJB-1769Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? (Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye/you_all with me? wherefore do ye/you_all tempt the LORD? )
KJB-1611[fn]Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, Giue vs water that wee may drinke. And Moses said vnto them, Why chide you with mee? Wherefore doe ye tempt the LORD? (Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide you with mee? Wherefore do ye/you_all tempt the LORD?)
BshpsAnd ye people dyd chyde with Moyses, and sayde: geue vs water to drinke. Moyses said vnto them: why chyde you with me? wherfore do ye tempt ye Lord? (And ye/you_all people did chyde with Moses, and said: give us water to drink. Moses said unto them: why chyde you with me? wherefore do ye/you_all tempt ye/you_all Lord?)
GnvaWherefore the people contended with Moses, and sayde, Giue vs water that we may drinke. And Moses sayde vnto them, Why contende yee with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? (Wherefore the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why contende ye/you_all with me? wherefore do ye/you_all tempt the Lord? )
CvdlAnd they chode wt Moses, & sayde: Geue vs water, yt we maye drynke. Moses sayde vnto the: Why chyde ye wt me? Wherfore tepte ye ye LORDE? (And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, it we may drink. Moses said unto them: Why chyde ye/you_all with me? Wherefore tempt ye/you_all ye LORD?)
WycWhiche puple chidde ayens Moises, and seide, Yyue thou water to vs, that we drynke. To whiche Moises answeride, What chiden ye ayens me, and whi tempten ye the Lord? (Which people chidde against Moses, and said, Yyue thou/you water to us, that we drink. To which Moses answered, What chiden ye/you_all against me, and why tempten ye/you_all the Lord?)
LuthUnd sie zankten mit Mose und sprachen: Gebet uns Wasser, daß wir trinken! Mose sprach zu ihnen: Was zanket ihr mit mir? Warum versuchet ihr den HErr’s? (And they/she/them zankten with Mose and said: Gebet us/to_us/ourselves water, that we/us drink! Mose spoke to to_them: What zanket you/their/her with mir? Warum versuchet you/their/her the LORD’s?)
ClVgQui jurgatus contra Moysen, ait: Da nobis aquam, ut bibamus. Quibus respondit Moyses: Quid jurgamini contra me? cur tentatis Dominum? (Who yurgatus on_the_contrary Moysen, he_said: Da us waterm, as bibamus. To_whom answered Moyses: Quid yurgamini on_the_contrary me? cur tentatis Dominum? )
17:2testing theLord is explained in 17:7. They doubted that God was really with them or cared for them, and they demanded that he prove his presence and care. God invites a test based on faith (“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief,” Mark 9:24), but he abhors a test based on doubt (i.e., I don’t believe, and I think God should prove himself to me, as in John 6:30). The test based on doubt makes us the judge and God the defendant.
Moses uses these questions to scold the people. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “Why are you speaking against me? And why are you trying to test whether Yahweh is able to give you what you need?”
Like several other events recorded in Scripture, the Bible’s account of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai includes an abundance of geographical references, yet it remains one of the most hotly debated topics among scholars, and numerous theories have been offered. The vast majority of geographical references provided in the story are disputed, including the place where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the location of Mount Sinai (see Proposed Locations for Mount Sinai map), and the various stops along the Israelites’ journey. A few locations have been established with some degree of scholarly consensus, but even these are not without opposing viewpoints. Amidst this incredible diversity of opinion, however, a single verse provides one of the most helpful clues for weighing the merits of one viewpoint over another: “By the way of Mount Seir it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb” (Deuteronomy 1:2). For those who assume the Bible’s account to be trustworthy, this verse appears to require the following for any theory to be considered viable: 1) Kadesh-barnea and Mount Sinai must have been located at a distance from each other that could reasonably have been expected to take eleven days for an entire nation of people with small children, flocks, equipment, and perhaps even elderly members to travel on foot; and 2) the pace established by this distance over eleven days should most likely be considered the typical pace for the Israelites as they traveled from place to place along the other parts of the journey. This two-pronged test clearly strains many of the theories put forth to this point, especially when one factors in the time references given for the start of the journey (Exodus 12:6; Numbers 33:3), the middle of the journey (Exodus 16:1; Numbers 33:8), and the end of the journey (Exodus 19:1). In short, the journey from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin took 31 days, since it included the 15th day of the second month, and the rest of the journey took another 16 days, assuming they arrived at Mount Sinai on the 15th day (not the first day, etc.) of the third month. Along with these criteria, a theory’s overall congruence with other established geographical and archeological data should bolster its credibility over other proposals. Another consideration is the extreme similarity between the events at Rephidim (Exodus 17) and the events at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 20:1-13; 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 32:51; Ezekiel 47:19; 48:28), raising the question of whether Rephidim (meaning “resting places”) is in fact Kadesh-barnea. With these things in mind, the map below proposes a route for the exodus that meets virtually all of these criteria. A careful analysis and explanation of all the elements of the map is far beyond the scope of this article, but a few key points should be noted. The term Red Sea, in addition to referring to what we now regard it, must have also applied to the interconnected lakes and marshlands that lay along what is now the Suez Canal. Also, the portion of the journey that passed through the wilderness for three days without water (Exodus 15:22; Numbers 33:8) may have been comprised of a partial first day, a full second day, and a partial third day, much like Jesus’ time in the tomb is reckoned as three days in Matthew 12:40. Most notably, Mount Sinai is placed on this map at Gebel Khashm et-Tarif, which is appropriately located near, but not in, Midian (Exodus 3:1; 18:5; Numbers 10:29-30). It is also located 89 miles from Kadesh-barnea (assuming Kadesh is at Tall al-Quderat), which establishes a reasonable pace of 7.6 miles (12.2 km) per day to travel between them in 11 days. This lines up well with several known sources of water along that route (e.g., `Ain Qedeis [Hazar-addar?], Tamilat Suwelima [Hor-haggiggad?], and the spring at Kuntillet al-Girafi [unknown ancient identification]). This general pace then synchronizes very well with the timetable and distances required by this map for the other parts of the journey. The distance from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin (where it is located here) could be completed in under 26 days, leaving an acceptable buffer of about 5 days for the parting of the Red Sea and perhaps a slower pace through the Wilderness of Shur/Etham. The entire journey took about 60 days, and the journey from the Wilderness of Sin to Mount Sinai took about 29 days. This leaves an acceptable buffer of time to complete the rest of the journey (about 16 days of travel) with a very adequate two weeks of extra time for Jethro to visit Moses and the Israelites to do battle with the Amalekites (Exodus 17-18). It should be noted that this timetable generally assumes (but does not necessarily require) that travel continued on sabbath days, but Scripture does not make clear whether travel was prohibited as work prior to the giving of the law at Mount Sinai.
