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Numbers 20:2-12
New International Version
Numbers 20:2-12
New International Version
2 Now there was no water(A) for the community,(B) and the people gathered in opposition(C) to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled(D) with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead(E) before the Lord!(F) 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,(G) that we and our livestock should die here?(H) 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.(I) And there is no water to drink!(J)”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting(K) and fell facedown,(L) and the glory of the Lord(M) appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff,(N) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.(O) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff(P) from the Lord’s presence,(Q) just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together(R) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”(S) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water(T) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy(U) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”(V)
Numbers 20:2-12
New American Standard Bible
Numbers 20:2-12
New American Standard Bible
2 (A)There was no water for the congregation, (B)and they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 (C)Then the people argued with Moses and spoke, saying, “(D)If only we had perished (E)when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 (F)Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die [a]here? 5 Why did you make us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? (G)It is not a place of [b]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink!” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and (H)fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
The Waters of Meribah
8 “Take (I)the staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff (J)from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “(K)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and (L)water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “(M)Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 20:4 Lit there
- Numbers 20:5 Lit seed
Numbers 20:2-12
Amplified Bible
Numbers 20:2-12
Amplified Bible
2 Now there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people contended with Moses, and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished [in the plague] before the Lord!(A) 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness to die here, we and our livestock? 5 Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and fell on their faces [before the Lord in prayer]. Then the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared to them; 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
The Water of Meribah
8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock [a]in front of them, so that it will pour out its water. In this way you shall bring water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their livestock drink [fresh water].”
9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand [in anger] and with his rod he struck the rock twice [instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord had commanded]. And the water poured out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank [fresh water]. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed (trusted) Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, you therefore [b]shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”(B)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 20:8 Lit before their eyes.
- Numbers 20:12 Moses apparently allowed his anger and frustration with the Israelites to blind him to the significance of what God had instructed. Although thoroughly exasperated by the Israelites, Moses was still held accountable for his behavior.
Numbers 20:2-12
King James Version
Numbers 20:2-12
King James Version
2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.
7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
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Numbers 20:2-12
Contemporary English Version
Numbers 20:2-12
Contemporary English Version
2 (A) The Israelites had no water, so they went to Moses and Aaron 3 and complained, “Moses, we'd be better off if we had died along with the others in front of the Lord's sacred tent.[a] 4 You brought us into this desert, and now we and our livestock are going to die! 5 Egypt was better than this horrible place. At least there we had grain and figs and grapevines and pomegranates.[b] But now we don't even have any water.”
6 Moses and Aaron went to the entrance to the sacred tent, where they bowed down. The Lord appeared to them in all of his glory 7-8 and said, “Moses, get your walking stick.[c] Then you and Aaron call the people together and command that rock to give you water. That's how you will provide water for the people of Israel and their livestock.”
9 Moses obeyed and took his stick from the sacred tent. 10 After he and Aaron had gathered the people around the rock, he said, “Look, you rebellious people, and you will see water flow from this rock!” 11 (B) He raised his stick in the air and struck the rock two times. At once, water gushed from the rock, and the people and their livestock had water to drink.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you refused to believe in my power, these people did not respect me. And so, you will not be the ones to lead them into the land I have promised.”
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New International Version (NIV) 
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New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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Amplified Bible (AMP)
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Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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