Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, July 20th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

Bible in Basic English

Numbers 20:5

Why have you made us come out of Egypt into this evil place? This is no place of seed or figs or vines or other fruits, and there is no water for drinking.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Israel;   Moses;   Murmuring;   Trouble;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agriculture-Horticulture;   Fruit, Natural;   Pomegranates;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Desert, Journey of Israel through the;   Deserts;   Fig-Tree, the;   Pomegranate-Tree, the;   Rocks;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Kadesh or Kadesh-Barnea;   Zin;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Kadesh-barnea;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Mourning;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Meribah;   Pomegranate;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Aaron;   Kadesh Barnea;   Levi;   Meribah;   Numbers, the Book of;   Pomegranate;   Wilderness of the Wanderings;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Kadesh-Meribah;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Provocation;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Aaron;   Jephthah;   Massah and Meribah;   Moses;   Numbers, Book of;   Pomegranate;   Zin;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Kadesh, Kadeshbarnea ;   Pomegranates, Rimmon;   Wanderings of the Israelites;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Balaam;   Kadesh-barnea;   Levi;   Rebels;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Journeyings of israel from egypt to canaan;   Kadesh;   Meribali;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Pomegranate;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Moses;   Pomegranate;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Criticism (the Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis);   Fig;   Massah and Meribah;   Moses;   Numbers, Book of;   Pentateuch;   Pomegranate;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Exodus, Book of;   Kadesh;   Pomegranate;   Water;   Wine;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Why have you made us to come up out of Mitzrayim, to bring us in to this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
King James Version
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
Lexham English Bible
Why have you brought us from Egypt to bring us to this bad place? It is not a place of seed or figs or vines or pomegranate trees, and there is not water to drink."
English Standard Version
And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink."
New Century Version
Why did you bring us from Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain, figs, grapevines, or pomegranates, and there's no water to drink!"
New English Translation
Why have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!"
Amplified Bible
"Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates, and there is no water to drink."
New American Standard Bible
"Why did you make us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink!"
Geneva Bible (1587)
Wherefore nowe haue yee made vs to come vp from Egypt, to bring vs into this miserable place, which is no place of seede, nor figges, nor vines, nor pomegranates? neither is there any water to drinke.
Legacy Standard Bible
And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink."
Contemporary English Version
Egypt was better than this horrible place. At least there we had grain and figs and grapevines and pomegranates. But now we don't even have any water."
Complete Jewish Bible
Why did you make us leave Egypt? To bring us to this terrible place without seed, figs, grapevines, pomegranates or even water to drink?"
Darby Translation
And why have ye made us to go up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink.
Easy-to-Read Version
Why did you bring us from Egypt? Why did you bring us to this bad place? There is no grain. There are no figs, grapes, or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink."
George Lamsa Translation
And why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, and have brought us to this evil place? It is no place for grain, or for wine or figs or pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
Good News Translation
Why did you bring us out of Egypt into this miserable place where nothing will grow? There's no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates. There is not even any water to drink!"
Christian Standard Bible®
Why 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!”
Literal Translation
And, why have you brought us up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place, not a place of seed, nor fig, nor vine, nor pomegranate; and there is no water to drink?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And wherfore haue ye brought vs out of Egipte in to this place, where men can not sowe, where are nether fygges, ner vynes, ner pomgranates, & where there is no water to drynke?
American Standard Version
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wherfore haue ye made vs to come vp out of Egypt, to bryng vs into this euyll place, which is no place of seede, nor of fygges, nor vines, nor pomgranates, neither is there any water to drynke?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.'
King James Version (1611)
And wherefore haue ye made vs to come vp out of Egypt, to bring vs in vnto this euil place? it is no place of seed, or of figges, or vines, or of pomegranates, neither is there any water to drinke.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And wherefore is this? Ye have brought us up out of Egypt, that we should come into this evil place; a place where there is no sowing, neither figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there water to drink.
English Revised Version
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
Berean Standard Bible
Why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates-and there is no water to drink!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whi han ye maad vs to stie from Egipt, and han brouyt vs in to this werste place, which may not be sowun, which nether bryngith forth fige tre, nether vineris, nether pumgranatis, ferthermore and hath not watir to drynke?
Young's Literal Translation
and why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to bring us in unto this evil place? no place of seed, and fig, and vine, and pomegranate; and water there is none to drink.
Update Bible Version
And why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
Webster's Bible Translation
And why have ye conducted us from Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? it [is] no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither [is] there any water to drink.
World English Bible
Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
New King James Version
And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink."
New Living Translation
Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!"
New Life Bible
Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this bad place? It is not a place of grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink."
New Revised Standard
Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And wherefore did ye cause us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? - not a place of seeds, and figs, and vines and pomegranates, even water, is there none to drink.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink?
Revised Standard Version
And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink."

Contextual Overview

1 In the first month all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Zin, and put up their tents in Kadesh; there death came to Miriam, and they put her body to rest in the earth. 2 And there was no water for the people: and they came together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people were angry with Moses and said, If only death had overtaken us when our brothers came to their death before the Lord! 4 Why have you taken the Lord's people into this waste, for death to come to us and to our cattle there? 5 Why have you made us come out of Egypt into this evil place? This is no place of seed or figs or vines or other fruits, and there is no water for drinking. 6 Then Moses and Aaron went away from the people to the door of the Tent of meeting; and, falling on their faces there, they saw the glory of the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Moses, 8 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. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he gave him orders. 10 Then Moses and Aaron made the people come together in front of the rock, and he said to them, Give ear now, you people whose hearts are turned from the Lord; are we to get water for you out of the rock?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

this evil: Numbers 16:14, Deuteronomy 8:15, Nehemiah 9:21, Jeremiah 2:2, Jeremiah 2:6, Ezekiel 20:36

no place of: i.e. "no place for sowing

Reciprocal: Joshua 7:7 - to deliver

Cross-References

Joshua 22:22
God, even God the Lord, God, even God the Lord, he sees, and Israel will see--if it is in pride or in sin against the Lord,
1 Kings 9:4
As for you, if you will go on your way before me, as David your father did, uprightly and with a true heart, doing what I have given you orders to do, keeping my laws and my decisions;
2 Kings 20:3
O Lord, keep in mind how I have been true to you with all my heart, and have done what is good in your eyes. And Hezekiah gave way to bitter weeping.
1 Chronicles 29:17
And I am conscious, my God, that you are the searcher of hearts, taking pleasure in righteousness. As for me, with an upright heart I have freely given all these things; and I have seen with joy your people who are here to make their offerings freely to you.
Job 33:9
I am clean, without sin; I am washed, and there is no evil in me:
Psalms 7:8
The Lord will be judge of the peoples; give a decision for me, O Lord, because of my righteousness, and let my virtue have its reward.
Psalms 24:4
He who has clean hands and a true heart; whose desire has not gone out to foolish things, who has not taken a false oath.
Psalms 25:21
For my clean and upright ways keep me safe, because my hope is in you.
Psalms 26:6
I will make my hands clean from sin; so will I go round your altar, O Lord;
Psalms 73:13
As for me, I have made my heart clean to no purpose, washing my hands in righteousness;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt,.... They represent that affair in such a light, as if they were forced out of Egypt by Moses and Aaron against their wills; or at least were overpersuaded by them to do what they had no inclination to, namely, to come out of Egypt; though they were in the utmost bondage and slavery, and their lives were made bitter by it, and they cried by reason of their oppression, and the hardships they endured; but this was all forgot. Aben Ezra says, it is a strange word which is here used, which shows the confusion they were in:

to bring us unto this evil place; dry and barren, where there were neither food nor drink, as follows:

it is no place of seed; or fit for sowing, as the Targum of Jonathan, any sort of seed, as wheat, barley, rye, rice, c.

or of figs, or vines, or pomegranates it is not a soil fit to plant such trees in, nor would they grow were they planted:

neither is there any water to drink; for them and their cattle, and therefore must be a miserable place for so large a body of people to subsist in.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The language of the murmurers is noteworthy. It has the air of a traditional remonstrance handed down from the last generation. Compare marginal references.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile