Exodus 14:11-12

14:11 and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? ¹  What in the world ²  have you done to us by bringing ³  us out of Egypt? 14:12 Isn’t this what we told you ⁴  in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, ⁵  because it is better for us to serve ⁶  the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” ⁷ 

Exodus 17:3

17:3 But the people were very thirsty ⁸  there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world ⁹  did you bring us up out of Egypt – to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” ¹⁰ 

Numbers 20:4-5

20:4 Why ¹¹  have you brought up the Lord’s community into this wilderness? So that ¹²  we and our cattle should die here? 20:5 Why ¹³  have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to ¹⁴  this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!”

Matthew 17:17

17:17 Jesus answered, ¹⁵  “You ¹⁶  unbelieving ¹⁷  and perverse generation! How much longer ¹⁸  must I be with you? How much longer must I endure ¹⁹  you? ²⁰  Bring him here to me.”

Matthew 17:20

17:20 He told them, “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, ²¹  if you have faith the size of ²²  a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing ²³  will be impossible for you.”

Mark 8:17-18

8:17 When he learned of this, ²⁴  Jesus said to them, “Why are you arguing ²⁵  about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? 8:18 Though you have eyes, don’t you see? And though you have ears, can’t you hear? ²⁶  Don’t you remember?

[14:11]  ¹ sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 396-97) notes how the speech is overly dramatic and came from a people given to using such exaggerations (Num 16:14), even using a double negative. The challenge to Moses brings a double irony. To die in the desert would be without proper burial, but in Egypt there were graves – it was a land of tombs and graves! Gesenius notes that two negatives in the sentence do not nullify each other but make the sentence all the more emphatic: “Is it because there were no graves…?” (GKC 483 §152.y).

[14:11]  ² tn The demonstrative pronoun has the enclitic use again, giving a special emphasis to the question (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[14:11]  ³ tn The Hebrew term לְהוֹצִּיאָנוּ (lÿhotsi’anu) is the Hiphil infinitive construct with a suffix, “to bring us out.” It is used epexegetically here, explaining the previous question.

[14:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is not this the word that we spoke to you.”

[14:12]  ⁵ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 164) explains this statement by the people as follows: “The question appears surprising at first, for we have not read previously that such words were spoken to Moses. Nor is the purport of the protest of the Israelite foremen (v 21 [5:21]) identical with that of the words uttered now. However, from a psychological standpoint the matter can be easily explained. In the hour of peril the children of Israel remember that remonstrance, and now it seems to them that it was of a sharper character and flowed from their foresight, and that the present situation justifies it, for death awaits them at this moment in the desert.” This declaration that “we told you so,” born of fright, need not have been strictly accurate or logical.

[14:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “better for us to serve.”

[14:12]  ⁷ tn Since Hebrew does not use quotation marks to indicate the boundaries of quotations, there is uncertainty about whether the Israelites’ statement in Egypt includes the end of v. 12 or consists solely of “leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians.” In either case, the command to Moses to leave them alone rested on the assumption, spoken or unspoken, that serving Egypt would be less risky than what Moses was proposing. Now with the Egyptian army on the horizon, the Israelites are sure that their worst predictions are about to take place.

[17:3]  ⁸ tn The verbs and the pronouns in this verse are in the singular because “the people” is singular in form.

[17:3]  ⁹ 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).

[17:3]  ¹⁰ 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.

[20:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and why….” The conjunction seems to be recording another thing that the people said in their complaint against Moses.

[20:4]  ¹² tn The clause uses the infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition. The clause would be a result clause in this sentence: “Why have you brought us here…with the result that we will all die?”

[20:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and why.”

[20:5]  ¹⁴ tn Here also the infinitive construct (Hiphil) forms the subordinate clause of the preceding interrogative clause.

[17:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

[17:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “faithless.”

[17:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “how long.”

[17:17]  ¹⁹ tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

[17:17]  ²⁰ sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.

[17:20]  ²¹ tn Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[17:20]  ²² tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

[17:20]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[8:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “becoming aware of it.”

[8:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “discussing.”

[8:18]  ²⁶ tn Grk “do you not hear?”