Numbers 20:1–21:35
20 Then the entire community of the ⌊Israelites⌋a came to the desert of Zin on the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; Miriam died and was buried there.
2 There was no water for the community, and they were gathered before Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people quarreled with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we died when our brothers were dying ⌊before⌋b Yahweh! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of Yahweh, us and our livestock, into this desert to die here? 5 Why have you brought us from Egypt to bring us to this bad place? It is not a place of seed or figsc or vinesd or pomegranate trees,e and there is not water to drink.” 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of assembly. They fell on their faces, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to them. 7 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff and summon the community, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will give water. Bring out for them water from the rock, and let the community and their livestock drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from ⌊before⌋f Yahweh just as he command him, 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly to the presence of the rock, and he said to them, “Please listen, you rebels; can we bring out water for you from this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice. And abundant water went out, and the community and their livestock drank. 12 But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not trusted in me, to regard me as holy ⌊in the sight of⌋g the ⌊Israelites⌋,h you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given to them.” 13 Those were the waters of Meribah, where the ⌊Israelites⌋i quarreled with Yahweh, and he showed himself holy among them.
14 From Kadesh Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has found us; 15 our ancestorsj went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt ⌊a long time⌋,k and the Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors.l 16 Then we cried to Yahweh, and he heard our voice; he sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt. And look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us go through your land. We will not go through a field or vineyard, and we will not drink water from a well. We will go along the road of the king; we will not turn aside right or left until we have gone through your territory.’ ”
18 Then Edom said to him, “You will not pass through usm lest ⌊we will go out⌋n to meet you with the sword.” 19 The ⌊Israelites⌋o said to him, “We will go up on the main road, and if wep and our livestockq drink your water, we will pay for it.r It is only a small matter; let us pass through on our feet.”s 20 But he said, “You will not go through.” And Edom went out to meet ⌊them⌋t with a large army and a strong hand. 21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, and Israel turned aside from him.
22 And they set out from Kadesh. The ⌊Israelites⌋,u the whole community, came to Mount Hor. 23 Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron on Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Let Aaron be gathered to his people; he will not come into the land that I have given to the ⌊Israelites⌋v because you rebelled against ⌊my word⌋w at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and take them up Mount Hor. 26 Strip off Aaron’s garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; Aaron will be gathered to his people, and he will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor before the eyes of all the community. 28 And Moses stripped off Aaron’s garments and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar went down from the mountain. 29 All the community saw that Aaron died; so all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.x
21 The Canaanite king of Arad, who was dwelling in the Negev,a heard that Israel came along the way of Atharim; he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 Israel made a vow to Yahweh, and they said, “If you will surely give this people into ourb hand, then wec ⌊will destroy⌋d their cities.” 3 Yahweh heard the voice of Israel; he gave to them the Canaanites, and ⌊they destroyed them⌋e and their cities. They called the name of the place Hormah.
4 They set out from Mount Hor by the way of the ⌊Red Sea⌋f to go around the land of Edom; but ⌊the people became impatient⌋g along the way. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us from Egypt to die in the desert? There is no food and no water, and our hearts detest this miserable food.”
6 And Yahweh sent among the people poisonous snakes; they bit the people, and many people from Israel died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh and let him remove the snakesh from among us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Make for yourself a snake and place it on a pole. Wheni anyone is bitten and looks at it, that person will live.” 9 So Moses made a snake of bronze, and he placed it on the pole; wheneverj a snake bit someone, and that person looked at the snake of bronze, he lived.
10 The ⌊Israelites⌋k set out and encamped at Oboth. 11 They set out from Oboth and encamped at Iye Abarim in the desert, which was in front of Moab ⌊toward the sunrise⌋.l 12 From there they set out and encamped at the valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and encamped beyond Arnon, which is in the desert that goes out from the boundary of the Amorites,m because Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.n 14 Therefore thus it is said in the scroll of the Wars of Yahweh,
“Waheb in Suphah,
and the wadis of Arnon,
that spreads out to the dwelling of Ar
and lies at the boundary of Moab.”
16 From there they went to Beer, which is the water well where Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Gather the people, that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song, “Arise, well water! Sing to it! 18 Well water that the princes dug, that the leaders of the people dug, with a staff and with their rods.” And from the desert they continued to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the territory of Moab, by the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the surface of the wasteland.
21 Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites,o saying, 22 “Let us go through your land; we will not turn aside into a field or vineyard; we will not drink well water along the way of the king until we have gone through your territory.” 23 But Sihon did not allow Israel to go through his territory. Sihon gathered all his people and went out to meet Israel; he came to the desert, to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel. 24 But Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and they took possession of his land from Arnon to Jabbok, until the ⌊Ammonites⌋,p because the boundary of the ⌊Ammonites⌋q was strong. 25 Israel took all these cities, and Israel inhabited all the cities of the Amorites,r in Heshbon, and in all its environs.s 26 Because Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites,t who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land from his hand until Arnon. 27 Thus the ones who quote proverbs say,
“Come to Heshbon! Let it be built!
And let the city of Sihon be established.
28 Because fire went out from Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon;
it consumed Ar of Moab,
the lords of theu high places of Arnon.
You have perished, people of Chemosh.
He has given his sons as fugitives,
and his daughters into captivity,
to the king of the Amorites,v Sihon.
Heshbon has perished up to Dibon;
we laid waste up to Nophah,
which ⌊reaches⌋w Medeba.”
31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.x 32 Moses sent to explore Jaazer; they captured ⌊its environs⌋y and dispossessed the Amoritesz who were there.
33 Then they turned and went up by the way of the Bashan, and Og king of the Bashan and all his people went out to meet them for battle at Edrei. 34 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Do not fear him because I will give him and all his people and all his land into your hand. You will do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites,a who was living in Heshbon.” 35 And so they destroyed him and his sons, and all his people until they had not spared a survivor; and they took possession of his land.