Exodus 17:4
in Exodus 17Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they are almost ready to stone me.
KJV
And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
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This verse in Exodus 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhen [Moses] was being stoned by the people, he made intercession for them. Even more so he wished to be blotted out of God's book sooner than that the flock committed to him should perish. He sought to imitate the Shepherd who would, he knew, carry on his shoulders even the wandering sheep.
This site's exposition
the people thirsted there for water
on Exodus 17:3-4
The accusation is the one they made at the sea and in the wilderness of Sin, that Moses brought them out of Egypt in order to kill them, and this time it takes in the children and the cattle. Moses answers the crowd by turning to God rather than by arguing back, which is what he does at every one of these scenes. They be almost ready to stone me is the first time the anger turns toward killing him, and Numbers 14:10 records the whole congregation taking up stones.
This site's exposition
Then Moses cried out to the LORD
Cried out is the verb of Israel's cry under the taskmasters at 3:7 and at the sea at 14:10, and here Moses cries to the LORD about these people. Jerome reads the cry as intercession for people who were ready to stone him. He likens Moses to the Shepherd who carries the wandering sheep.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Ungoverned passions, provoked by the crossing of unbridled appetites, sometimes make men guilty of the greatest absurdities, and act like madmen, that cast firebrands, arrows, and death, among their best friends. They began to question whether God were with them or not: They tempted the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Moses begs of God to direct him what he should do, for he was utterly at a loss; he could not of himself either supply their want or pacify their tumult; He pleads his own peril: " They are almost ready to stone me;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And Moses cried unto the Lord.....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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 Mt 5:44;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּצְעַ֤ק | vaiyitzak | and he cried out | H6817 → | 55 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֙ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מָ֥ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה | ʾeeseh | will I do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָעָ֣ם | laam | to the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| ע֥וֹד | od | yet | H5750 → | 490 times |
| מְעַ֖ט | meat | a little | H4592 → | 101 times |
| וּסְקָלֻֽנִי׃ | usekaluni | and they will stone me | H5619 → | 22 times |
וַיִּצְעַ֤קand he cried out
vaiyitzakH6817 →55 times
מֹשֶׁה֙Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מָ֥הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אֶעֱשֶׂ֖הwill I do
ʾeesehH6213 →2628 times
לָעָ֣םto the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
ע֥וֹדyet
odH5750 →490 times
מְעַ֖טa little
meatH4592 →101 times
וּסְקָלֻֽנִי׃and they will stone me
usekaluniH5619 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 30:6And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
it leads to
- Psalms 56:3–4
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Psalms 62:5
Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
- Psalms 27:1–3
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Psalms 18:6
In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
- Psalms 56:3–4
Through
John 8:59At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
it leads to
- John 11:8
“Rabbi,” they replied, “the Jews just tried to stone You, and You are going back there?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 11:8
Through
Numbers 14:10But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 30:6
And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 30:6
Through
Acts 14:19Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:25
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.
- 2 Corinthians 11:25
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, LETTER 82.3; Jerome, Letter 82; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.