Exodus 17
The full text of Exodus 17 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 The whole community of Israel set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"
3 But the people were thirsty there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?"
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."
5 The LORD answered Moses, "Go out in front of the people. Take some of the elders of Israel with you, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
8 The Amalekites came and attacked Israel at Rephidim.
9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some men for us and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had told him, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites prevailed.
12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until sunset.
13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered, and make sure Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
15 Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
16 He said, "A hand was lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will wage war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
Translation notes (3)
- Exodus 17:7a The name "Massah" means "testing" and "Meribah" means "quarreling" in Hebrew, which explains their meanings.
- Exodus 17:15a In Hebrew, the name is "the LORD-Nissi"; nissi means "my banner" or "my standard"—a rallying flag used in battle.
- Exodus 17:16a The first line of this verse is uncertain in the Hebrew text. The standard Hebrew text reads ki yad 'al kes Yah, traditionally translated as "a hand upon the throne of the LORD" (referring to an oath gesture). However, many manuscripts and the Septuagint read nes ("banner") instead of kes ("throne"), which would give "a hand upon the banner of the LORD"—echoing the altar name in verse 15. The text is not resolved here.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Hebrew and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Exodus, are free to read on this site.
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