not a single one of the those who saw my glory and the miracles I did in Egypt and in the desert—but provoked me and refused to obey me time and time again—
They complained to Moses, “Were there no graves in Egypt that you had to bring us out here in the desert to die? What have you done to us by making us leave Egypt?
Some of them came and complained to Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink!” “Why are you complaining to me?” Moses asked. “Why are you trying to challenge the Lord?”
But the people were so thirsty for water there that they went on complaining to Moses, saying, “Why did you have to bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us and our children and livestock by thirst?”
He called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites argued there, and because they challenged the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord with us, or not?”
When the people realized how long Moses was taking before he came back down the mountain, they went together to see Aaron. They told him, “Get up! Make some gods for us who can lead us because this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt—we don't know what's happened to him!”
and said, “May the Lord see what you have done and judge you accordingly! You have made us like a bad smell to Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword in their hands to kill us!”
Whatever subject the king asked them about, everything that required wisdom of understanding, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
It wasn't long before the people started to complain about how much they were suffering. When the Lord heard what they were saying, he became angry. Fire from the Lord burned them, destroying some on the edge of the camp.
A group of troublemakers among them had such intense food cravings they affected the Israelites who started crying again, asking “Who's going to get us some meat to eat?
The Lord told Moses, “How long are these people going to reject me? How long are these people going to refuse to trust in me despite all the miracles I have done right in front of them?
Remember how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert! Don't ever forget it! From the time you left the land of Egypt until you arrived here, you've been constantly rebelling against the Lord.