Psalms 78:20

New Living Translation

Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can't give his people bread and meat."

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out,And streams were overflowing;Can He give bread also?Will He prepare meat for His people?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?"

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Beholde, he hath smytten the stonie rocke, and waters haue gushed out, and streames haue flowed out aboundantly: but can he likewise geue bread, can he prouide fleshe for his people?

Darby Translation
Behold, he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; is he able to give bread also, or provide flesh for his people?

New King James Version
Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?|"

Literal Translation
Behold! He struck the rock and the waters gushed out, and the torrents were overflowing. Can He also give bread? Will He provide flesh for His people?

Easy-to-Read Version
Yes, he struck the rock and a flood of water came out. But can he give us bread and meat?"

World English Bible
Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, Streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?"

King James Version (1611)
Behold, he smote the rocke, that the waters gushed out, & the streames ouerflowed; can he giue bread also? Can he prouide flesh for his people?

King James Version
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For they spake agaynst God and sayde: Yee yee, God shal prepare a table in the wyldernesse, shall he?

Amplified Bible
"Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out And the streams overflowed; Can He give bread also? Or will He provide meat for His people?"

American Standard Version
Behold, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out, And streams overflowed; Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?

Bible in Basic English
See, the rock was cut open by his power, so that the water came rushing out, and overflowing streams; is he able to give us bread? is he able to get meat for his people?

Update Bible Version
Look, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out, And streams overflowed; Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?

Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

New English Translation
Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?"

Contemporary English Version
It's true God struck the rock and water gushed out like a river, but can he give his people bread and meat?"

Complete Jewish Bible
True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, until the vadis overflowed; but what about bread? Can he give that? Can he provide meat for his people?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Behold, he smote the rocke, that the water gushed out, and the streames ouerflowed: can hee giue bread also? or prepare flesh for his people?

George Lamsa Translation
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide food for his people?

Hebrew Names Version
Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, Streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?"

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Behold, He smote the rock, that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed;

New Life Bible
See, He hit the rock and water poured out and rivers flowed over. Can He give bread also? Will He give meat to His people?"

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Forasmuch as he smote the rock, and the waters flowed, and the torrents ran abundantly; will he be able also to give bread, or prepare a table for his people?

English Revised Version
Behold, he smote the rock, that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; can he give bread also? will he provide flesh for his people?

Berean Standard Bible
When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents overflowed. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?"

New Revised Standard
Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Lo! he hath smitten a rock, And waters, have gushed out, Yea, torrents, have rushed along, - Food also, can he give? Or provide flesh for his people?

Douay-Rheims Bible
(77-20) Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his people?

Lexham English Bible
Yes, he struck the rock and water flowed and streams gushed out, but can he also give food or provide meat for his people?"

English Standard Version
He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?"

New American Standard Bible
"Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He also provide bread? Will He prepare meat for His people?"

New Century Version
When he hit the rock, water poured out and rivers flowed down. But can he give us bread also? Will he provide his people with meat?"

Good News Translation
It is true that he struck the rock, and water flowed out in a torrent; but can he also provide us with bread and give his people meat?"

Christian Standard Bible®
Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out; torrents overflowed. But can He also provide bread or furnish meat for His people?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For he smoot a stoon, and watris flowiden; and streemys yeden out in aboundaunce. Whether also he may yyue breed; ether make redi a bord to his puple?

Young's Literal Translation
Lo, He hath smitten a rock, And waters flow, yea, streams overflow. `Also -- bread [is] He able to give? Doth He prepare flesh for His people?'

Revised Standard Version
He smote the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?"

Contextual Overview

⁹ The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. ¹⁰ They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by his instructions. ¹¹ They forgot what he had done— the great wonders he had shown them, ¹² the miracles he did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt. ¹³ For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls! ¹⁴ In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire. ¹⁵ He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring. ¹⁶ He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river! ¹⁷ Yet they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. ¹⁸ They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he smote: Exodus 17:6, Exodus 17:7, Numbers 20:11

can he give: Psalms 78:41, Genesis 18:12-14, Numbers 11:21-23

Reciprocal: Exodus 15:24 - What Leviticus 25:20 - General 2 Kings 3:20 - filled Psalms 105:41 - opened Isaiah 48:21 - he caused Matthew 14:17 - General Mark 8:4 - From Luke 9:12 - for John 11:37 - Could 1 Corinthians 10:4 - did

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed,.... This they allow was done by him, for these are their words continued; suggesting, that though the waters did gush out upon smiting the rock, yet they might have been in the caverns of it before, and had remained there a long time, and might have come out of themselves; and therefore this was no such great matter, and might easily be accounted for:

but can he give bread also? solid, substantial bread, and not like this light bread, the manna, as they called it, Numbers 21:5, can he give us bread of corn, in a wilderness which is not a place of seed, where no corn grows? can he do this? this would show his power indeed:

can he provide flesh for his people? for so great a multitude, and in a place where no cattle are? let him do this, and we will believe his power; or else the words intimate that the smiting of the rock, and the waters flowing in such large streams, were an instance of his power, and therefore he that could do the one could do the other; he that could bring such large quantities of water out of a rock could give them solid bread and suitable flesh, and fulness of both; and should he not do so, they must conclude that he bore no good will to them, and had no love and kindness for them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Behold, he smote the rock ... - See the notes at Psalms 78:15. The smiting of the rock the first time occurred “before” the complaining about the food. The fact that the rock had been smitten could not be doubted. They had thus had abundant evidence that God was able to do that, and to furnish “water” for them in the desert. It was unreasonable, therefore, to doubt whether he could provide “food” for them - for this in itself was no more difficult than to furnish water. Yet they are represented as affirming that this was far more difficult, and that, although it was admitted that God had provided “water,” yet that to provide “food” was wholly beyond his power. Their special sin, therefore, was, that they doubted the power of God in one case, when, in another, equally difficult, they had had abundant proof of it. The spirit of complaining had not been put down by one surprising and undoubted miracle performed in their behalf - a miracle which proved that God had all the power necessary to meet their needs.

Can he give bread also? - Does the ability to cause water to flow from a rock prove that there is also ability to produce bread when necessary? They doubted it, and thus complained against God.

Can he provide flesh for his people? - They supposed that this required greater power than the providing of water, or even of bread, and that if it were admitted that God could furnish the two former, it would by no means follow that he could provide the latter. It was this, as the next verse shows, which was the immediate occasion of the special anger of the Lord.