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20 Then came the Bnei Yisroel, even the kol HaEdah into the Midbar of Tzin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miryam died there, and was buried there.

And there was no mayim for the Edah; and they gathered themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon.

And the people contended with Moshe, and spoke, saying, If only we had died when our brethren died before Hashem!

And why have ye brought up the Kahal Hashem into this midbar, that we and our livestock should die here?

And why have ye made us to come up out of Mitzrayim, to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of zera (grain), or of te’enah (fig), or of gefen (grapevine), or of pomegranates; neither is there any mayim to drink.

And Moshe and Aharon went from the presence of the Kahal unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed, and they fell upon their faces; and the kavod Hashem appeared unto them.

And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Take the rod and gather thou the Edah together, thou and Aharon thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth its mayim, and thou shalt bring forth to them mayim out of the rock; so thou shalt give the Edah and their beasts drink.

And Moshe took the rod from before Hashem, just as He commanded him.

10 And Moshe and Aharon gathered the Kahal together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye morim (rebels, contentious ones); must we fetch you mayim out of this rock?

11 And Moshe lifted up his hand, and with his rod he struck the rock twice; and the mayim came out abundantly, and the Edah drank, and their beasts also.

12 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and Aharon, Because ye believed Me not, to honor Me as kadosh in the eyes of the Bnei Yisroel, therefore ye shall not bring this Kahal into HaAretz which I have given them.

13 These were the Waters of Merivah (Quarreling); because the Bnei Yisroel quarreled with Hashem, and He showed Himself kadosh among them.

14 And Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh unto the melech of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Yisroel, Thou knowest all the hardship that hath befallen us:

15 How Avoteinu went down into Mitzrayim, and we have dwelt in Mitzrayim a long time; and the Egyptians did evil to us, and Avoteinu;

16 And when we cried unto Hashem, He heard our voice, and sent a malach, and hath brought us forth out of Mitzrayim; and, hinei, we are in Kadesh, a town in the edge of thy border;

17 Let us pass, please, through thy country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the kerem (vineyards), neither will we drink of the mayim of the wells; we will go by the Derech HaMelech; we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left until we have passed through thy territory.

18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass through me, lest I come out against thee with the cherev.

19 And the Bnei Yisroel said unto him, We will go by the main road; and if I and my livestock drink of thy mayim, then I will pay for it; I will only, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.

20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with a large army, and with a yad chazakah.

21 Thus Edom refused to give Yisroel passage through his border; wherefore Yisroel turned away from him.

22 And the Bnei Yisroel, even Kol HaEdah, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto Mt Hor.

23 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and Aharon in Mt Hor, by the border of Eretz Edom, saying,

24 Aharon shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into HaAretz which I have given unto the Bnei Yisroel, because ye rebelled against My word at the Waters of Merivah.

25 Take Aharon and Eleazar bno, and bring them up unto Mt Hor;

26 And strip Aharon of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar bno; and Aharon shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.

27 And Moshe did as Hashem commanded; and they went up into Mt Hor in the sight of Kol HaEdah.

28 And Moshe stripped Aharon of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar bno; and Aharon died there on the top of the mount; and Moshe and Eleazar came down from the mount.

29 And when Kol HaEdah saw that Aharon was dead, they mourned for Aharon shloshim yom, even Kol Bais Yisroel.

Water From the Rock

20 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin,(A) and they stayed at Kadesh.(B) There Miriam(C) died and was buried.

Now there was no water(D) for the community,(E) and the people gathered in opposition(F) to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled(G) with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead(H) before the Lord!(I) Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,(J) that we and our livestock should die here?(K) Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.(L) And there is no water to drink!(M)

Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting(N) and fell facedown,(O) and the glory of the Lord(P) appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff,(Q) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.(R) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

So Moses took the staff(S) from the Lord’s presence,(T) just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together(U) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”(V) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water(W) 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(X) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”(Y)

13 These were the waters of Meribah,[a](Z) where the Israelites quarreled(AA) with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.(AB)

Edom Denies Israel Passage

14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh(AC) to the king of Edom,(AD) saying:

“This is what your brother Israel says: You know(AE) about all the hardships(AF) that have come on us. 15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt,(AG) and we lived there many years.(AH) The Egyptians mistreated(AI) us and our ancestors, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry(AJ) and sent an angel(AK) and brought us out of Egypt.(AL)

“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(AM) 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.(AN)

18 But Edom(AO) answered:

“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.(AP)

19 The Israelites replied:

“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock(AQ) drink any of your water, we will pay for it.(AR) We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”

20 Again they answered:

“You may not pass through.(AS)

Then Edom(AT) came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,(AU) Israel turned away from them.(AV)

The Death of Aaron

22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh(AW) and came to Mount Hor.(AX) 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,(AY) the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people.(AZ) He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command(BA) at the waters of Meribah.(BB) 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.(BC) 26 Remove Aaron’s garments(BD) and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;(BE) he will die there.”

27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor(BF) in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.(BG) And Aaron died there(BH) on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,(BI) all the Israelites mourned for him(BJ) thirty days.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 20:13 Meribah means quarreling.