^20:22So the entire company of Israelites³⁹ traveled from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.⁴⁰^20:23And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom. He said: ^20:24“Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors,⁴¹ for he will not enter into the land I have given to the Israelites because both of you⁴² rebelled against my word⁴³ at the waters of Meribah. ^20:25Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up on Mount Hor. ^20:26Remove Aaron’s priestly garments⁴⁴ and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors⁴⁵ and will die there.”

^20:27So Moses did as the Lord commanded; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight⁴⁶ of the whole community. ^20:28And Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

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Footnotes

39 Again the passage uses apposition: “the Israelites, the whole community.”
40 The traditional location for this is near Petra (Josephus, 4.4.7). There is serious doubt about this location since it is well inside Edomite territory, and since it is very inaccessible for the transfer of the office. Another view places it not too far from Kadesh Barnea, about 15 miles (25 km) northeast at Jebel Madurah, on the northwest edge of Edom and so a suitable point of departure for approaching Canaan from the south (see J. L. Mihelec, 2:644; and J. de Vaulx, Les Nombres [], 231). Others suggest it was at the foot of Mount Hor and not actually up in the mountains (see Deut 10:6).
41 This is the standard poetic expression for death. The bones would be buried, often with the bones of relatives in the same tomb, giving rise to the expression.
42 The verb is in the second person plural form, and so it is Moses and Aaron who rebelled, and so now because of that Aaron first and then Moses would die without going into the land.
43 Heb “mouth.”
44 The word “priestly” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
45 Heb “will be gathered”; this is a truncated form of the usual expression “gathered to his ancestors,” found in v. 24. The phrase “to his ancestors” is supplied in the translation here.
46 Heb “eyes.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, “Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” Moses did as the Lord commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there.”

Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain,

CSBChristian Standard Bible

After they set out from Kadesh, the entire Israelite community came to Mount Hor. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom, “Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land I have given the Israelites, because you both rebelled against my command at the Waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor. Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and die there.”

So Moses did as the Lord commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. After Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

NLTNew Living Translation

The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hor. There, on the border of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel, because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah. Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor. There you will remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron will die there and join his ancestors.”

So Moses did as the Lord commanded. The three of them went up Mount Hor together as the whole community watched. At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron’s son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And they set out from Kadesh. The Israelites, the whole community, came to Mount Hor. Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron on Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom, saying, “Let Aaron be gathered to his people; he will not come into the land that I have given to the Israelites because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and take them up Mount Hor. Strip off Aaron’s garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; Aaron will be gathered to his people, and he will die there.” So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor before the eyes of all the community. 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.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 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 water of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: 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. And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

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