Old/New Testament
Water from the Rock
20 In the first month all the people of Israel arrived at the Desert of Zin. They stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. 2 There was no water for the people. So they came together against Moses and Aaron. 3 They argued with Moses. They said, “We should have died in front of the Lord as our brothers did. 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s people into this desert? Are we and our animals to die here? 5 Why did you bring us from Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain, figs or pomegranates. And there’s no water to drink!”
6 So Moses and Aaron left the people. Then they went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They bowed facedown. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “You and your brother Aaron should gather the people. Also take your walking stick. Speak to that rock in front of them. Then water will flow from it. Give that water to the people and their animals.”
9 So Moses took the stick from in front of the Lord. He did as the Lord had said. 10 He and Aaron gathered the people in front of the rock. Then Moses said, “Now listen to me, you complainers! Do you want us to bring water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and hit the rock twice with his stick. Water began pouring out. And the people and their animals drank it.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “You did not believe me. You did not honor me as holy before the people. So you will not lead them into the land I will give them.”
13 These are the waters of Meribah.[a] Here the Israelites argued with the Lord. And the Lord showed them he was holy.
Edom Will Not Let Israel Pass
14 From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom. He said, “Your brothers, the Israelites, say to you: You know about all the troubles we have had. 15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt. And we lived there for many years. The people of Egypt were cruel to our ancestors. 16 But we cried out to the Lord. He heard us and sent us an angel to bring us out of Egypt.
“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your land. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not touch any fields of grain or vineyards. We will not drink water from the wells. We will travel only along the king’s road. We will not turn right or left until we have passed through your country.”
18 But the king of Edom answered: “You may not pass through here. If you try, I will come and meet you with swords.”
19 The Israelites answered: “We will go along the main road. If our animals drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to walk through. That’s all.”
20 But he answered: “You may not pass through here.”
Then the Edomites went out to meet the Israelites with a large and powerful army. 21 The Edomites refused to let them pass through their country. So the Israelites turned back.
Aaron Dies
22 All the Israelites moved from Kadesh to Mount Hor. 23 It was near the border of Edom. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will die. He will not enter the land that I’m giving to the Israelites. This is because you both acted against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Mount Hor. 26 Take off Aaron’s special clothes and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will die there. He will join his ancestors.”
27 Moses obeyed the Lord’s command. They climbed up Mount Hor. All the people saw them go. 28 Moses took off Aaron’s clothes. He put them on Aaron’s son Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came back down the mountain. 29 Then all the people learned that Aaron was dead. So everyone in Israel cried for him for 30 days.
War with the Canaanites
21 The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the southern area. He heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim. So he attacked them and captured some of them. 2 Then the Israelites made this promise to the Lord: “If you will help us defeat these people, we will completely destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to the Israelites. And he let them defeat the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So the place was named Hormah.[b]
The Bronze Snake
4 The Israelites left Mount Hor and went on the road toward the Gulf of Aqaba. They did this to go around the country of Edom. But the people became impatient on the way. 5 They grumbled at God and Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? We will die in this desert! There is no bread! There is no water! And we hate this terrible food!”
6 So the Lord sent them poisonous snakes. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we grumbled at you and the Lord. Pray that the Lord will take away these snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze snake. And put it on a pole. If anyone is bitten, he should look at it. Then he will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake. And he put it on a pole. Then when a snake bit anyone, he looked at the bronze snake and lived.
The Journey to Moab
10 The Israelites went and camped at Oboth. 11 They went from Oboth to Iye Abarim. This was in the desert east of Moab. 12 From there they went and camped in the Zered Valley. 13 From there they went and camped across the Arnon. This was in the desert just inside the Amorite country. The Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. 14 That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says:
“. . . and Waheb in Suphah, and the ravines,
the Arnon, 15 and the slopes of the ravines
that lead to the settlement of Ar.
These places are at the border of Moab.”
16 The Israelites went from there to Beer. A well is there where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people. I will give them water.”
17 Then the Israelites sang this song:
“Pour out water, well!
Sing about it.
18 Princes dug this well.
Important men made this hole.
With their scepters and poles, they dug it.”
The people went from the desert to Mattanah. 19 From Mattanah they went to Nahaliel and on to Bamoth. 20 From Bamoth they went to the valley of Moab. There the top of Mount Pisgah looks over the desert.
Sihon and Og
21 The people of Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites. They said to him, 22 “Let us pass through your country. We will not go through any fields of grain or vineyards. We will not drink water from the wells. We will travel only along the king’s road. We will stay on it until we have passed through your country.”
23 But King Sihon would not let the Israelites pass through his country. He gathered his army together. They marched out to meet Israel in the desert. At Jahaz they fought the Israelites. 24 Israel killed the king. Then they captured his land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They took the land as far as the Ammonite border. That border was strongly defended. 25 Israel captured all the Amorite cities and lived in them. They took Heshbon and all the towns around it. 26 Heshbon was the city where Sihon, the Amorite king, lived. In the past he had fought with the king of Moab. Sihon had taken all the land as far as the Arnon.
27 That is why the poets say:
“Come to Heshbon
and rebuild it.
Rebuild Sihon’s city.
28 A fire began in Heshbon.
Flames came from Sihon’s city.
It destroyed Ar in Moab.
It burned the Arnon highlands.
29 How terrible for you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are ruined.
His sons ran away.
His daughters were captured
by Sihon, king of the Amorites.
30 But we defeated those Amorites.
We ruined their towns from Heshbon to Dibon.
We destroyed them as far as Nophah, near Medeba.”
31 So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.
32 Moses sent spies to the town of Jazer. Then they captured the towns around it. They forced out the Amorites who lived there.
33 Then the Israelites went up the road toward Bashan. Og, the king of Bashan, and his army marched out to meet the Israelites. They fought at Edrei.
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I will hand him, his whole army and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the Amorite king who lived in Heshbon.”
35 So the Israelites killed Og and his sons and all his army. No one was left alive. And they took his land.
Balaam and Balak
22 Then the people of Israel went to the plains of Moab. They camped near the Jordan River across from Jericho.
2 Balak son of Zippor saw everything the Israelites had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was scared of so many Israelites. Truly, Moab was terrified by them.
4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will take everything around us. It will be like an ox eating grass.”
Balak son of Zippor was the king of Moab at this time. 5 He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor. It was near the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw. Balak said, “A nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the land. They have camped next to me. 6 They are too powerful for me. So come and put a curse on them. Maybe then I can defeat them and make them leave the area. I know that if you bless someone, the blessings happen. And if you put a curse on someone, it happens.”
7 The elders of Moab and Midian went with payment in their hands. They found Balaam. Then they told him what Balak had said.
8 Balaam said to them, “Stay here for the night. I will tell you what the Lord tells me.” So the Moabite leaders stayed with him.
9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
10 Balaam said to God, “The king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, sent them. He sent me this message: 11 ‘A nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the land. So come and put a curse on them. Then maybe I can fight them and force them out of my land.’”
12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. Don’t put a curse on those people. I have blessed them.”
13 The next morning Balaam awoke and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your own country. The Lord will not let me go with you.”
14 So the Moabite leaders went back to Balak. They said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15 So Balak sent other leaders. He sent more leaders this time. And they were more important. 16 They went to Balaam and said, “Balak son of Zippor says this: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to me. 17 I will pay you well. I will do what you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”
18 But Balaam answered Balak’s servants, “King Balak could give me his palace full of silver and gold. But I cannot disobey the Lord my God in anything, great or small. 19 You stay here tonight as the other men did. I will find out what more the Lord tells me.”
20 That night God came to Balaam. He said, “These men have come to ask you to go with them. Go. But only do what I tell you.”
Balaam and His Donkey
21 Balaam got up the next morning. He put a saddle on his donkey. Then he went with the Moabite leaders. 22 But God became angry because Balaam went. So the angel of the Lord stood in the road to stop Balaam. Balaam was riding his donkey. And he had two servants with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road. The angel had a sword in his hand. So the donkey left the road and went into the field. Balaam hit the donkey to force her back on the road.
24 Later, the angel of the Lord stood on a narrow path between two vineyards. There were walls on both sides. 25 Again the donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So the donkey walked close to one wall. This crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he hit her again.
26 The angel of the Lord went ahead again. The angel stood at a narrow place. It was too narrow to turn left or right. 27 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So she lay down under Balaam. Balaam was very angry and hit her with his stick. 28 Then the Lord made the donkey talk. She said to Balaam, “What have I done to make you hit me three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made me look foolish! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”
30 But the donkey said to Balaam, “I am your very own donkey. You have ridden me for years. Have I ever done this to you before?”
“No,” Balaam said.
31 Then the Lord let Balaam see the angel. The angel of the Lord was standing in the road with his sword drawn. Then Balaam bowed facedown on the ground.
32 The angel of the Lord asked Balaam, “Why have you hit your donkey three times? I have stood here to stop you. What you are doing is wrong. 33 The donkey saw me. She turned away from me three times. If she had not turned away, I would have killed you by now. But I would let her live.”
34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not know you were standing in the road to stop me. If I am wrong, I will go back.”
35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with these men. But say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s leaders.
36 Balak heard that Balaam was coming. So he went out to meet him at Ar in Moab. It was beside the Arnon, at the edge of his country. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “I had asked you before to come quickly. Why didn’t you come to me? I am able to reward you well.”
38 But Balaam answered, “I have come to you now. But I can’t say just anything. I can only say what God tells me to say.”
39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Balak offered cattle and sheep as a sacrifice. He gave some meat to Balaam and the leaders with him.
41 The next morning Balak took Balaam to Bamoth Baal. From there he could see the edge of the Israelite camp.
Obey God’s Law Not Men’s
7 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem. They gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of Jesus’ followers ate food with hands that were not clean. (“Not clean” means that they did not wash their hands in the way the Pharisees said people must. 3 The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands in this special way. They do this to follow the teaching given to them by their great people who lived before them. 4 And when the Jews buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash it in a special way. They also follow other rules of their great people who lived before them. They follow rules about the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.[a])
5 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Your followers don’t follow the rules given to us by our great people who lived before us. Your followers eat their food with hands that are not clean. Why do they do this?”
6 Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke about you. Isaiah wrote,
‘These people show honor to me with words.
But their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing
but human rules they have memorized.’ Isaiah 29:13
8 You have stopped following the commands of God. Now you only follow the teachings of men.”[b]
9 Then Jesus said to them: “You think you are clever! You ignore the commands of God so that you can follow your own teachings! 10 Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’[c] Then Moses also said, ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’[d] 11 But you teach that a person can say to his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 12 You are telling that person that he does not have to do anything for his father or mother. 13 So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to follow your own rules, which you teach people. And you do many things like that.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.