Exodus 17

1 Then the whole gathering of the children of Israel set out from the wilderness of Sin, camp by camp, at the word of the Lord, and they camped at Rephidim — and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 And the people abused Moses, saying, “Give us water, so we can drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why are you abusing me? And why are you testing the Lord?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “Why is this? Did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” 4 And Moses cried out to the Lord: “What am I to do with this people? A little more and they will stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of this people, and take some of the elders of the people with you; and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Look — I will be standing there before you come, on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and my people will drink.” And Moses did so in front of the children of Israel. 7 And he named that place Testing and Reviling — because of the reviling of the children of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” [a]

8 Then Amalek came and made war on Israel at Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Pick out able men for yourself, and go out and draw up the line against Amalek tomorrow. And look — I will be standing on the top of the hill, with the staff of God in my hand.” [b] 10 And Joshua did as Moses told him: he went out and drew up the line against Amalek, and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And whenever Moses lifted up his hands, Israel got the upper hand; and whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek got the upper hand. 12 But Moses’ hands grew heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other. And Moses’ hands were held steady until the sun went down. 13 And Joshua routed Amalek and all his people with the slaughter of the sword. 14 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write this down in a book as a memorial, and say it in Joshua’s hearing: I will wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven — wipe it out entirely.” 15 And Moses built an altar to the Lord and named it The Lord My Refuge, [c] 16 because with a hidden hand the Lord wages war on Amalek from generation to generation. [d]