Numbers 20:8
New International Version
“Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

New Living Translation
“You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.”

English Standard Version
“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”

Berean Standard Bible
“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”

King James Bible
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

New King James Version
“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”

New American Standard Bible
“Take the staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock drink.”

NASB 1995
“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

NASB 1977
“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

Legacy Standard Bible
“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

Amplified Bible
“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock in front of them, so that it will pour out its water. In this way you shall bring water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their livestock drink [fresh water].”

Christian Standard Bible
“Take the staff and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Take the staff and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”

American Standard Version
Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“Take for yourself the rod and assemble the assembly, you and Ahron your brother, and speak over the rock in their sight, and it shall give its water, and bring out water to them from the rock and give drink to the assembly and to their animals.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Take thy rod, and call the assembly, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye to the rock before them, and it shall give forth its waters; and ye shall bring forth for them water out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink.

English Revised Version
Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Take your staff, then you and your brother Aaron gather the community. Right before their eyes, tell the rock to give up its water. In this way you will give the community water from the rock for them and their animals to drink."

Good News Translation
"Take the stick that is in front of the Covenant Box, and then you and Aaron assemble the whole community. There in front of them all speak to that rock over there, and water will gush out of it. In this way you will bring water out of the rock for the people, for them and their animals to drink."

International Standard Version
"Take the rod, gather the community together, and then you and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock right before their eyes. It will release water. As you bring water to them from the rock, the community and the cattle will be able to drink."

JPS Tanakh 1917
Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink.'

Literal Standard Version
“Take the rod and assemble the congregation—you and your brother Aaron—and you have spoken to the rock before their eyes, and it has given its water, and you have brought out water to them from the rock, and have watered the congregation and their beasts.”

Majority Standard Bible
“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”

New American Bible
Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and in their presence command the rock to yield its waters. Thereby you will bring forth water from the rock for them, and supply the community and their livestock with water.

NET Bible
"Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and then speak to the rock before their eyes. It will pour forth its water, and you will bring water out of the rock for them, and so you will give the community and their beasts water to drink."

New Revised Standard Version
Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.

New Heart English Bible
"Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink."

Webster's Bible Translation
Take the rod, and convene thou the assembly, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye to the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth its water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give drink to the congregation and their beasts.

World English Bible
“Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.”

Young's Literal Translation
'Take the rod, and assemble the company, thou and Aaron thy brother; and ye have spoken unto the rock before their eyes, and it hath given its water, and thou hast brought out to them water from the rock, and hast watered the company, and their beasts.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Water from the Rock
7And the LORD said to Moses, 8“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.” 9So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he had been commanded.…

Cross References
Exodus 4:17
But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it."

Exodus 4:20
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

Exodus 14:16
And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

Exodus 17:5
And the LORD said to Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take along in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Numbers 20:7
And the LORD said to Moses,

Psalm 78:16
He brought streams from the stone and made water flow down like rivers.


Treasury of Scripture

Take the rod, and gather you the assembly together, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak you to the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock: so you shall give the congregation and their beasts drink.

the rod

Numbers 21:15,18
And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab…

Exodus 4:2,17
And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod…

Exodus 7:20
And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

speak

Genesis 18:14
Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Joshua 6:5,20
And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him…

Psalm 33:9
For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

bring forth

Numbers 20:11
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

Nehemiah 9:15
And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

Psalm 78:15,16
He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths…

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Aaron Assemble Assembly Beasts Congregation Convene Drink Eyes Livestock Rock Rod Speak Together Water Yield
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Aaron Assemble Assembly Beasts Congregation Convene Drink Eyes Livestock Rock Rod Speak Together Water Yield
Numbers 20
1. The children of Israel come to Zin, where Miriam dies.
2. They murmur for want of water
7. Moses smiting the rock, brings forth water at Meribah
14. Moses at Kadesh desires passage through Edom, which is denied him
22. At Mount Hor Aaron resigns his place to Eleazar, and dies














(8) Take the rod.--It has been supposed by some, from the fact that the rod is represented as being taken "from before the Lord" (Numbers 20:9), that the reference is to the rod of Aaron which was kept "before the testimony" (Numbers 17:10). On the other hand, the natural presumption that the rod was the same as that with which some of the previous miracles in Egypt and those at the Red Sea and at Rephidim had been wrought is confirmed by the facts that the name of Aaron is not mentioned in this verse until after the mention of the rod, and that Moses is said, in Numbers 20:11, to have smitten the rock "with his rod."

Verse 8. - Take the rod. The ῤάβδος, or staff of office, with which Moses and Aaron had worked wonders before Pharaoh (Exodus 7:9 sq.), and with which Moses had smitten the rock in Rephidim (Exodus 17:6). This rod had not been mentioned, nor perhaps used, since then; but we might certainly have supposed that the instrument of so many miracles would be reverently laid up in the tabernacle "before the Lord," and, this we find from the next verse to have been the case. Gather thou the assembly together, i.e., by their representatives. Speak ye unto the rock before their eyes. The word used for the rock in this narrative is הַסֶּלַע instead of הַצּוּר, as in Exodus 17. It does not seem that any certain distinction of meaning can be drawn between the words, which are obviously interchanged in Judges 6:20, 21, and are both translated πέτρα by the Septuagint; but the careful use of different terms in the two narratives serves to distinguish them, just as the use of κοφίνους and σπυρίδας by St. Mark (Mark 6:43; Mark 8:8, 19, 20) helps to distinguish the two miracles of feeding the multitude.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Take
קַ֣ח (qaḥ)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

the staff
הַמַּטֶּ֗ה (ham·maṭ·ṭeh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

and assemble
וְהַקְהֵ֤ל (wə·haq·hêl)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 6950: To gather as an assembly or congregation

the congregation.
הָעֵדָה֙ (hā·‘ê·ḏāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5712: A stated assemblage

You
אַתָּה֙ (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

and your brother
אָחִ֔יךָ (’ā·ḥî·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )

Aaron
וְאַהֲרֹ֣ן (wə·’a·hă·rōn)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 175: Aaron -- an elder brother of Moses

are to speak
וְדִבַּרְתֶּ֧ם (wə·ḏib·bar·tem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the rock
הַסֶּ֛לַע (has·se·la‘)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5553: A craggy rock

while they watch,
לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם (lə·‘ê·nê·hem)
Preposition-l | Noun - cdc | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

and it will pour out
וְנָתַ֣ן (wə·nā·ṯan)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

its water.
מֵימָ֑יו (mê·māw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

You will bring out
וְהוֹצֵאתָ֨ (wə·hō·w·ṣê·ṯā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim

water
מַ֙יִם֙ (ma·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

the rock
הַסֶּ֔לַע (has·se·la‘)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5553: A craggy rock

and provide drink
וְהִשְׁקִיתָ֥ (wə·hiš·qî·ṯā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 8248: To quaff, to irrigate, furnish a, potion to

for the congregation
הָעֵדָ֖ה (hā·‘ê·ḏāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5712: A stated assemblage

and their livestock.�
בְּעִירָֽם׃ (bə·‘î·rām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1165: Beasts, cattle


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OT Law: Numbers 20:8 Take the rod and assemble the congregation (Nu Num.)
Numbers 20:7
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