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Exodus 17:4

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 17:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me.
Exodus 17:4 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 17

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to the commandment of Jehovah, and encamped in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2Wherefore the people stove 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?
3And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me.
5And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and they rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go.
6Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tempted Jehovah, saying, Is Jehovah among us, or not?
← Exodus 17:3Exodus 17:5 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Moses cried unto the Lord. etc.] Or prayed unto him, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; which shows the distress he was thrown into, the vehemence of his prayer, and perhaps the loud and lamentable tone in which he expressed it: this was the method he always took, and the refuge he fled unto in all his times of trouble; in which he did well, and set a good example of piety and devotion to God, of faith and trust in him: saying, what shall I do unto this people? or, “for this people” f539; to relieve them in their present exigency; suggesting his own inability to do any thing for them: yet not despairing of relief, but rather expressing faith in the power and goodness of God to keep…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people?--His language, instead of betraying any signs of resentment or vindictive imprecation on a people who had given him a cruel and unmerited treatment, was the expression of an anxious wish to know what was the best to be done in the circumstances (compare Mat 5:44; Rom 12:21).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“cried: Exo 14:15, Exo 15:25; Num 11:11 almost: Num 14:10, Num 16:19; Sa1 30:6; Joh 8:59, Joh 10:31; Act 7:50, Act 14:19 Exodus 17:5”
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Related study paths

Read Exodus 17 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification