Exodus 17:3-4

17:3 But the people were very thirsty 1  there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world 2  did you bring us up out of Egypt – to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” 3 

17:4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with 4  this people? – a little more 5  and they will stone me!” 6 

1 tn The verbs and the pronouns in this verse are in the singular because “the people” is singular in form.

2 tn The demonstrative pronoun is used as the enclitic form for special emphasis in the question; it literally says, “why is this you have brought us up?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

3 sn Their words deny God the credit for bringing them out of Egypt, impugn the integrity of Moses and God by accusing them of bringing the people out here to die, and show a lack of faith in God’s ability to provide for them.

4 tn The preposition lamed (ל) is here specification, meaning “with respect to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 49, §273).

5 tn Or “they are almost ready to stone me.”

6 tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive almost develops an independent force; this is true in sentences where it follows an expression of time, as here (see GKC 334 §112.x).