¹⁸ “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and ^(A)went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and ^(B)arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and ^(C)camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

The Wilderness Years

2 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, ^(A)as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. ² Then the Lord said to me, ³ ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country ^(B)long enough. Turn northward ⁴ and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of ^(C)your brothers, the people of Esau, ^(D)who live in Seir; and ^(E)they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. ⁵ Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because ^(F)I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. ^6 (G)You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. ⁷ For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. ^(H)He knows your going through this great wilderness. ^(I)These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’ ⁸ So ^(J)we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from ^(K)the Arabah road from ^(L)Elath and ^(M)Ezion-geber.

“And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab.

³⁷ And they set out from ^(A)Kadesh and camped at ^(B)Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸ And Aaron the priest went up ^(C)Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ And Aaron was ^(D)123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ And ^(E)the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

⁴¹ And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³ And they set out from Punon and camped at ^(F)Oboth. ⁴⁴ And they set out from Oboth and camped at ^(G)Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^(A)on the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border.

The Bronze Serpent

⁴ From Mount Hor ^(A)they set out by the way to the Red Sea, ^(B)to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. ⁵ And the people ^(C)spoke against God and against Moses, ^(D)“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ^(E)we loathe this worthless food.” ^6 (F)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and ^(G)they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ^7 (H)And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. ^(I)Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹ So ^(J)Moses made a bronze^[a] serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

The Song of the Well

¹⁰ And the people of Israel set out and ^(K)camped in Oboth. ^11 (L)And they set out from Oboth and ^(M)camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. ¹² From there they set out and camped in ^(N)the Valley of Zered. ¹³ From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the ^(O)Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

The Death of Aaron

²² And they journeyed from ^(A)Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to ^(B)Mount Hor.