Exodus 15:23 — Compare Translations

27 translations compared side by side

English (YLT) 1898 Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young

and they come in to Marah, and have not been able to drink the waters of Marah, for they [are] bitter; therefore hath [one] called its name Marah.

English ASV

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

English Amplified

When they came to Marah, they could not drink its waters for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah [bitterness].

English Amplified Classic Bible 1987

When they came to Marah, they could not drink its waters for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah [bitterness].

English Berean Standard Bible (BSB) 2025

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.)

English CSB 2017 - Christian Standard Bible

They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter — that is why it was named Marah.

English Darby 1890 : Public Domain

And they came to Marah, and could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was called Marah.

English EASY 2024

Then they arrived at Marah. But they could not drink the water there because it was too bitter. That is why they called that place ‘Marah’.

English ERV 2006 - Only For Website

Then they came to Marah. There was water at Marah, but it was too bitter to drink. (That is why the place was named Marah.)

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.

English GNT (Good News Translation)

Then they came to a place called Marah, but the water there was so bitter that they could not drink it. That is why it was named Marah.

English God's Word - GW 1995

When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink the water because it tasted bitter. That's why the place was called Marah Bitter Place.

English HCSB 2004 - Copyrighted Only For Website

They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter-- that is why it was named Marah.

English KJV 1611

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

English LSB

And they came to Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah.

English MEV 2014 (Modern English Version)

When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah.

English NASB (New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995)

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah.

English NASU 1989 - New American Standard Update - Only for Website

they arrived at Marah, where they could not drink the water, because it was too bitter. Hence this place was called Marah.

English NET Bible - 2005 (New English Translation)

Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.)

English NIRV 1996 - Copyrighted only for Website

When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink its water. It was bitter. That's why the place is named Marah.

English NIV

When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. )

English NKJ 1982

Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

English NLT

When they came to Marah, they finally found water. But the people couldn't drink it because it was bitter. (That is why the place was called Marah, which means "bitter.")

English NRSV 1989 - Only for website

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah.

English RSV (Revised Standard Version)

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.

English TL (The Living Bible) (1971)

Arriving at Marah, they couldn't drink the water because it was bitter (that is why the place was called Marah, meaning “bitter“).

English Tyndale 1537

At the last they came to Mara: but they could not drink of the waters for bitterness, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of the place was called Mara.