Numbers 20
Legacy Standard Bible
No Water for the Congregation
20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the (A)wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 (B)Now there was no water for the congregation, (C)and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. 3 (D)The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “(E)If only we had breathed our last (F)when our brothers breathed their last before Yahweh! 4 (G)Why then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die [a]here? 5 And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? (H)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 doorway of the tent of meeting and (I)fell on their faces. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to them; 7 and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take (J)the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”
Moses Strikes the Rock
9 So Moses took the rod (K)from before Yahweh, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “(L)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised high his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and (M)water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. 12 But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “(N)Because you did not believe Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were the waters of [c](O)Meribah [d]because the sons of Israel contended with Yahweh, and He proved Himself holy among them.
Edom Refuses Passage
14 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to (P)the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You (Q)know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. 16 So (R)we cried out to Yahweh, and He heard our voice and sent (S)an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please (T)let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we pass through your territory.’”
18 (U)Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through [e]us, lest I come out to meet you with the sword.” 19 Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and (V)my livestock do drink any of your water, (W)then I will [f]pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, [g]nothing else.” 20 But he said, “(X)You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out to meet him with a heavy [h]force and with a strong hand. 21 (Y)Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; (Z)so Israel turned away from him.
22 Then they set out from (AA)Kadesh, and the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
The Death of Aaron
23 And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron at (AB)Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Aaron will be (AC)gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel because (AD)you rebelled against My [i]command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son (AE)Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be (AF)gathered to his people and will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as Yahweh had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and (AG)put them on his son Eleazar, and (AH)Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 So all the congregation saw that Aaron breathed his last, and all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty (AI)days.
Footnotes
- Numbers 20:4 Lit there
- Numbers 20:5 Lit seed
- Numbers 20:13 Lit contention
- Numbers 20:13 Or where
- Numbers 20:18 Lit me
- Numbers 20:19 Lit give
- Numbers 20:19 Or no great thing
- Numbers 20:20 Lit people
- Numbers 20:24 Lit mouth
Numbers 20
American Standard Version
20 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people strove with Moses, and spake, saying, Would that we had died when our brethren died before Jehovah! 4 And why have ye brought the assembly of Jehovah into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our beasts? 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 tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces: and the glory of Jehovah appeared unto them. 7 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before Jehovah, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. 12 And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. 13 These are the waters of [a]Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with Jehovah, and he [b]was sanctified in them.
14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: 15 how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and our fathers: 16 and when we cried unto Jehovah, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border. 17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy land: we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells; we will go along the king’s highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy border. 18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against thee. 19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof: let me only, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet. 20 And he said, Thou shalt not pass through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
22 And they journeyed from Kadesh: and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came unto mount Hor. 23 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. 27 And Moses did as Jehovah commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
Footnotes
- Numbers 20:13 That is, Strife.
- Numbers 20:13 Or, showed himself holy
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