Numbers 20:1–13

No Water for the Congregation

¹Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the ^awilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.

^2aNow there was no water for the congregation, ^band they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron.

^3aThe people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “^bIf only we had breathed our last ^cwhen our brothers breathed their last before Yahweh!

⁴“^aWhy then have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die ¹here?

⁵“And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? ^aIt is not a place of ¹grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.”

⁶Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and ^afell on their faces. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to them;

⁷and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

⁸“Take ^athe 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

⁹So Moses took the rod ^afrom before Yahweh, just as He had commanded him;

¹⁰and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “^aListen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?”

¹¹Then Moses raised high his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and ^awater came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.

¹²But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “^aBecause 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.”

¹³Those were the waters of ^1aMeribah ²because the sons of Israel contended with Yahweh, and He proved Himself holy among them.