E4.org

Numbers 20

The Death of Miriam

1 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came ^ainto the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And ^bMiriam died there and was buried there.

The Waters of Meribah

2 ^cNow there was no water for the congregation. ^dAnd they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people ^equarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished ^fwhen our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And ^gwhy have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^hfell on their faces. ⁱAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 ^j“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So ^kyou shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff ^lfrom before the Lord, as he commanded him.

Moses Strikes the Rock

10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ^m“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, ⁿand water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because ^oyou did not believe in me, ^pto uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 ^qThese are the waters of Meribah ^{▼

▼
Meribah means quarreling} where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.

Edom Refuses Passage

14 ^sMoses sent messengers from Kadesh to ^tthe king of Edom: “Thus says ^uyour brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 ^vhow our fathers went down to Egypt ^wand we lived in Egypt a long time. ^xAnd the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And ^ywhen we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and ^zsent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 ^aaPlease let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard ^abor drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 18 But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” 19 And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, ^acand if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, ^adthen I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” 20 But he said, ^ae“You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom ^afrefused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel ^agturned away from him.

The Death of Aaron

22 And they journeyed from ^ahKadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to ^aiMount Hor. 23 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, 24 ^aj“Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because ^akyou rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron ^alshall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” 27 Moses did as the Lord commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 ^amAnd Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there ^anon the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, ^aoall the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.