Numbers 20:8

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.”

Parallel Translations

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."

Update Bible Version
Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and you 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 cattle to 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.

New Century Version
"Take your walking stick, and you and your brother Aaron should gather the people. Speak to that rock in front of them so that its water will flow from it. When you bring the water out from that rock, give it to the people and their animals."

New English Translation
"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."

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 you 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 cattle 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]."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and seide, Take the yerde, and gadere the puple, thou, and Aaron thi brother; and speke ye to the stoon bifore hem, and it schal yyue watris. And whanne thou hast led watir out of the stoon, al the multitude schal drynke, and the beestis therof `schulden drynke.

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.'

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."

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.

Bible in Basic English
Take the rod, you and Aaron, your brother, and make all the people come together, and before their eyes give orders to the rock to give out its water; and so make water come out of the rock for them, and give the people and their cattle drink.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Take the rodde, and gather thou and thy brother Aaron the congregation together, and speake vnto the rocke before their eyes, and it shall geue foorth his water: And thou shalt bryng them water out of the rocke, to geue the companie drynke, and their beastes also.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink."

Darby Translation
Take the staff, and gather the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, and it shall give its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, and shalt give the assembly and their beasts drink.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Get the special walking stick. Take your brother Aaron and the crowd of people and go to that rock. Speak to the rock in front of the people. Then water will flow from the rock, and you can give that water to the people and to their animals."

JPS Old Testament (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.'

King James Version (1611)
Take the rodde, and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speake yee vnto the rocke before their eyes, and it shall giue foorth his water, and thou shalt bring foorth to them, water out of the rocke: so thou shalt giue the Congregation, and their beasts drinke.

New Life Bible
"Take the special stick. You and your brother Aaron gather the people together. Speak to the rock in front of them and it will give its water. So you will bring water out of the rock for them. Let the people and their animals drink."

New Revised Standard
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.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Take the staff and gather together the assembly, thou, and Aaron thy brother, then shall ye speak unto the cliff before their eyes and it shall give forth it waters, - so shalt thou bring forth unto them water, out of the cliff, and shalt cause the assembly, and their cattle to drink.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Take the rod, and gather thou & thy brother Aaron the Congregation together, & speake yee vnto the rocke before their eyes, and it shall giue foorth his water, and thou shalt bring them water out of the rocke: so thou shalt giue the Congregation, and their beastes drinke.

George Lamsa Translation
Take the rod, and gather the assembly together, you and Aaron your brother, and speak over the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth its water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock, so that you shall give the congregation and their cattle 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."

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.

Revised Standard Version
"Take the rod, 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; so you shall give drink to the congregation and their cattle."

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.

Hebrew Names Version
Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aharon your brother, and speak you 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 cattle drink.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
"Take the staff and summon the community, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will give water. Bring out for them water from the rock, and let the community and their livestock drink."

Literal Translation
Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron. And speak to the rock before their eyes. And it shall give forth its water; and you shall bring water out of the rock to them; so you shall water the congregation andtheir animals.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Take the staffe, & gather the cogregacion together, thou & thy brother Aaron, & speake vnto the rocke before their eyes, & it shall geue his water. And thus shalt thou prouyde the water out of the rocke, & geue the congregacion drynke, and their catell also.

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."

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 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."

New American Standard Bible (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."

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."

Contextual Overview

¹The entire Israelite community entered the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and they settled in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there. ²There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. ³The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. ⁴Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? ⁵Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!” ⁶Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷The Lord spoke to Moses, ⁸“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.”⁹So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence just as he had commanded him. ¹⁰Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?”

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the rod: Numbers 21:15, Numbers 21:18, Exodus 4:2, Exodus 4:17, Exodus 7:20, Exodus 14:16, Exodus 17:5, Exodus 17:9

speak: Genesis 18:14, Joshua 6:5, Joshua 6:20, Psalms 33:9, Matthew 21:21, Mark 11:22-24, Luke 11:13, John 4:10-14, John 16:24, Acts 1:14, Acts 2:1-4, Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:17

bring forth: Numbers 20:11, Nehemiah 9:15, Psalms 78:15, Psalms 78:16, Psalms 105:41, Psalms 114:8, Isaiah 41:17, Isaiah 41:18, Isaiah 43:20, Isaiah 48:21

Reciprocal: Exodus 4:20 - the rod of God Leviticus 8:3 - General Numbers 21:16 - Gather Numbers 27:14 - ye rebelled Deuteronomy 29:6 - neither have 1 Kings 17:4 - I have commanded 2 Kings 3:17 - that ye may Ezekiel 37:4 - Prophesy Matthew 8:8 - but

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Take thy rod,.... The rod of miracles, as the Targum of Jonathan; not the rod of Aaron, miraculous for its blossom and fruit, as some Jewish writers think; but the rod of Moses, with which he had done many wonders in Egypt, and at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, and particularly by smiting the rock at Horeb, when the Israelites wanted water, as they did now:

and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother; not only the heads of the people, but the body of them, as many as could be got together to see the miracle, and to receive the benefit of it:

and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; which was near, but a little way off, within sight, and might be pointed to: it was not the same rock that was smote before; that was in Horeb, this in the extremity of the land of Edom, as Aben Ezra observes; this was to be spoken to, and by a word speaking it would give out water; which was a trial of the faith of Moses and Aaron, as well as of the people, before whom, in a public manner, the rock was to be addressed, as if it was intelligent and all-sufficient:

and it shall give forth his water; not as though there was a fountain of water in it, but that water should flow from it, or God by it give water:

and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; by speaking to it: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink; sufficient for them both.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Take the rod - That with which the miracles in Egypt had been performed (Exodus 7:8 ff; Exodus 7:19 ff; Exodus 8:5 ff, etc.), and which had been used on a similar occasion at Rephidim (Exodus 17:5 following). This rod, as the memorial of so many divine interpositions, was naturally laid up in the tabernacle, and is accordingly Numbers 20:9 described now as taken by Moses “from before the Lord.”