Numbers 20
20
1And the sons of Israel come in, — all the company — to the wilderness of Zin, in the first month, and the people abide in Kadesh, and Miriam dieth there, and is buried there.
2And there hath been no water for the company, and they are assembled against Moses, and against Aaron,
3and the people strive with Moses, and speak, saying, ‘And oh that we had expired when our brethren expired before Jehovah!
4and why have ye brought in the assembly of Jehovah unto this wilderness to die there, we and our beasts?
5and why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to bring us in unto this evil place? no place of seed, and fig, and vine, and pomegranate; and water there is none to drink.
6And Moses and Aaron go in from the presence of the assembly unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and fall on their faces, and the honour of Jehovah is seen by them.
7And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
8‘Take the rod, and assemble the company, thou and Aaron thy brother; and ye have spoken unto the rock before their eyes, and it hath given its water, and thou hast brought out to them water from the rock, and hast watered the company, and their beasts.’
9And Moses taketh the rod from before Jehovah, as He hath commanded him,
10and Moses and Aaron assemble the assembly unto the front of the rock, and he saith to them, ‘Hear, I pray you, O rebels, from this rock do we bring out to you water?’
11and Moses lifteth up his hand, and smiteth the rock with his rod twice; and much water cometh out, and the company drink, also their beasts.
12And Jehovah saith unto Moses, and unto Aaron, ‘Because ye have not believed in Me to sanctify Me before the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore ye do not bring in this assembly unto the land which I have given to them.’
13These [are] waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel have ‘striven’ with Jehovah, and He is sanctified upon them.
14And Moses sendeth messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, ‘Thus said thy brother Israel, Thou — thou hast known all the travail which hath found us;
15that our fathers go down to Egypt, and we dwell in Egypt many days, and the Egyptians do evil to us and to our fathers;
16and we cry unto Jehovah, and He heareth our voice, and sendeth a messenger, and is bringing us out of Egypt; and lo, we [are] in Kadesh, a city [in] the extremity of thy border.
17Let us pass over, we pray thee, through thy land; we pass not over through a field, or through a vineyard, nor do we drink waters of a well; the way of the king we go, we turn not aside — right or left — till that we pass over thy border.’
18And Edom saith unto him, ‘Thou dost not pass over through me, lest with sword I come out to meet thee.’
19And the sons of Israel say unto him, ‘In the highway we go, and if of thy waters we drink — I and my cattle — then I have given their price; only (it is nothing) on my feet I pass over.’
20And he saith, ‘Thou dost not pass over;’ and Edom cometh out to meet him with much people, and with a strong hand;
21and Edom refuseth to suffer Israel to pass over through his border, and Israel turneth aside from off him.
22And the sons of Israel, the whole company, journey from Kadesh, and come in unto mount Hor,
23and Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron in mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, saying,
24‘Aaron is gathered unto his people, for he doth not go in unto the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because that ye provoked My mouth at the waters of Meribah.
25‘Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and cause them to go up mount Hor,
26and strip Aaron of his garments, and thou hast clothed [with] them Eleazar his son, and Aaron is gathered, and doth die there.’
27And Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded, and they go up unto mount Hor before the eyes of all the company,
28and Moses strippeth Aaron of his garments, and clotheth with them Eleazar his son, and Aaron dieth there on the top of the mount; and Moses cometh down — Eleazar also — from the mount,
29and all the company see that Aaron hath expired, and they bewail Aaron thirty days — all the house of Israel.
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Numbers 20: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Numbers 20
20
Moses Strikes the Rock
1In the first month of the year,#20:1 The first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of March and April. The number of years since leaving Egypt is not specified. the whole community of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried.
2There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. 3The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the Lord’s presence with our brothers! 4Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? 5Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!”
6Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle,#20:6 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting. where they fell face down on the ground. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to them, 7and the Lord said to Moses, 8“You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.”
9So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord. 10Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” 11Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.
12But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” 13This place was known as the waters of Meribah (which means “arguing”) because there the people of Israel argued with the Lord, and there he demonstrated his holiness among them.
Edom Refuses Israel Passage
14While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message:
“This is what your relatives, the people of Israel, say: You know all the hardships we have been through. 15Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time, and we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians. 16But when we cried out to the Lord, he heard us and sent an angel who brought us out of Egypt. Now we are camped at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land. 17Please let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road and never leave it until we have passed through your territory.”
18But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!”
19The Israelites answered, “We will stay on the main road. If our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through your country. That’s all we ask.”
20But the king of Edom replied, “Stay out! You may not pass through our land.” With that he mobilized his army and marched out against them with an imposing force. 21Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around.
The Death of Aaron
22The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hor. 23There, on the border of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24“The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel, because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah. 25Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor. 26There you will remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron will die there and join his ancestors.”
27So Moses did as the Lord commanded. The three of them went up Mount Hor together as the whole community watched. 28At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron’s son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down. 29When the people realized that Aaron had died, all Israel mourned for him thirty days.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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