^27:12¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range,¹⁴ and see¹⁵ the land I have given¹⁶ to the Israelites. ^27:13When you have seen it, you will be gathered¹⁷ to your ancestors,¹⁸ as Aaron your brother was gathered to his ancestors.¹⁹^27:14For²⁰ in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you²¹ rebelled against my command²² to show me as holy²³ before their eyes over the water—the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”

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Footnotes

13 See further J. Lindblom, “Lot Casting in the Old Testament,” 12 (1962): 164–78; E. Lipinski, “Urim and Thummim,” 20 (1970): 495–96; and S. E. Loewenstamm, “The Death of Moses,” 27 (1957/58): 142–57.
14 The Greek version adds “which is Mount Nebo.” This is a typical scribal change to harmonize two passages. The area is in the mountains of Moab; Deut 34:1 more precisely identifies it as Mount Nebo.
15 The imperative could be subordinated to the first to provide a purpose clause, although a second instruction fits well enough.
16 This perfect tense would best be classified as a perfect of resolve: “which I have decided to give.” God had not yet given the land to them, but it was certain he would.
17 The first verb is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, and the second verb is also. In such parallel clauses, the first may be subordinated, here as a temporal clause.
18 Heb “people.”
19 Heb “was gathered.” The phrase “to his ancestors” is elided in the Hebrew text, but is an implied repetition from the beginning of the verse, and has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
20 The preposition on the relative pronoun has the force of “because of the fact that.”
21 The verb is the second masculine plural form.
22 Heb “mouth.”
23 Using the basic meaning of the word קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be separate, distinct, set apart”), we can understand better what Moses failed to do. He was supposed to have acted in a way that would have shown God to be distinct, different, holy. Instead, he gave the impression that God was capricious and hostile—very human. The leader has to be aware of what image he is conveying to the people.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was. When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.

NLTNew Living Translation

One day the Lord said to Moses, “Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Yahweh said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land that I have given to the Israelites. When you see it, you will be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother was gathered, because you rebelled against my word in the desert of Zin when the community quarreled regarding my holiness at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah-Kadesh in the desert of Zin.)

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

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