Translations
KJVPrimary
King James VersionThe princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
F.O.G.Secondary
The F.O.GThe well that princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank — with the sceptre, with their staffs.' And from the wilderness to Mattanah,
F.O.G.M.
F.O.G MessageThe well that princes dug, that the people's leaders sank — with their scepters, with their staffs.' From the wilderness to Mattanah,
BSB
Berean Standard BibleThe princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.” From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah,
Footnotes
The Well Song is ancient lyric poetry in which *princes* and *nobles* — not servants — are praised for digging. Leadership here means physical service to the community. The *mehoqeq* (מְחֹקֵק — 'the lawgiver/sceptre-bearer') wielding his staff to sink a well evokes Moshe's own staff striking the rock (Exod. 17; Num. 20). Some read the divine Lawgiver Himself as the one who sinks the well — the sceptre of the covenant becoming the instrument of life for the community. FOG renders the archaic poetic form closely; FOG Message smooths the metre slightly for readability.
