Numbers 20–21

Water From the Rock

20In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin,^k and they stayed at Kadesh.^l There Miriam^m died and was buried.

²Now there was no waterⁿ for the community,^o and the people gathered in opposition^p to Moses and Aaron. ³They quarreled^q with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead^r before the Lord!^{s 4}Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,^t that we and our livestock should die here?^{u 5}Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.^v And there is no water to drink!^w”

⁶Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting^x and fell facedown,^y and the glory of the Lord^z appeared to them. ⁷The Lord said to Moses, ⁸“Take the staff,^a and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.^b You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹So Moses took the staff^c from the Lord’s presence,^d just as he commanded him. ¹⁰He and Aaron gathered the assembly together^e in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”^{f 11}Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water^g gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy^h in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”ⁱ

¹³These were the waters of Meribah,^aj where the Israelites quarreled^k with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.^l

Edom Denies Israel Passage

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh^m to the king of Edom,ⁿ saying:

“This is what your brother Israel says: You know^o about all the hardships^p that have come on us. ¹⁵Our ancestors went down into Egypt,^q and we lived there many years.^r The Egyptians mistreated^s us and our ancestors, ¹⁶but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry^t and sent an angel^u and brought us out of Egypt.^v

“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.^{w 17}Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.^x”

¹⁸But Edom^y answered:

“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.^z”

¹⁹The Israelites replied:

“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock^a drink any of your water, we will pay for it.^b We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”

²⁰Again they answered:

“You may not pass through.^c”

Then Edom^d came out against them with a large and powerful army. ²¹Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,^e Israel turned away from them.^f

The Death of Aaron

²²The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh^g and came to Mount Hor.^{h 23}At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,ⁱ the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴“Aaron will be gathered to his people.^j He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command^k at the waters of Meribah.^{l 25}Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.^{m 26}Remove Aaron’s garmentsⁿ and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;^o he will die there.”

²⁷Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor^p in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.^q And Aaron died there^r on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,^s all the Israelites mourned for him^t thirty days.

Arad Destroyed

21When the Canaanite king of Arad,^u who lived in the Negev,^v heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. ²Then Israel made this vow^w to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy^ax their cities.” ³The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites^y over to them. They completely destroyed them^z and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.^ba

The Bronze Snake

⁴They traveled from Mount Hor^b along the route to the Red Sea,^cc to go around Edom.^d But the people grew impatient on the way;^{e 5}they spoke against God^f and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt^g to die in the wilderness?^h There is no bread! There is no water!ⁱ And we detest this miserable food!”^j

⁶Then the Lord sent venomous snakes^k among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.^{l 7}The people came to Moses^m and said, “We sinnedⁿ when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord^o will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed^p for the people.

⁸The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;^q anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake^r and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.^s

The Journey to Moab

¹⁰The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.^{t 11}Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab^u toward the sunrise. ¹²From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.^{v 13}They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon^w, which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.^{x 14}That is why the Book of the Wars^y of the Lord says:

“… Zahab^d in Suphah and the ravines,

the Arnon ¹⁵and^e the slopes of the ravines

that lead to the settlement of Ar^z

and lie along the border of Moab.”

¹⁶From there they continued on to Beer,^a the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”

¹⁷Then Israel sang this song:^b

“Spring up, O well!

Sing about it,

¹⁸about the well that the princes dug,

that the nobles of the people sank—

the nobles with scepters and staffs.”

Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, ¹⁹from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah^c overlooks the wasteland.

Defeat of Sihon and Og

²¹Israel sent messengers^d to say to Sihon^e king of the Amorites:^f

²²“Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.^g”

²³But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory.^h He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz,ⁱ he fought with Israel.^{j 24}Israel, however, put him to the sword^k and took over his land^l from the Arnon to the Jabbok,^m but only as far as the Ammonites,ⁿ because their border was fortified. ²⁵Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites^o and occupied them,^p including Heshbon^q and all its surrounding settlements. ²⁶Heshbon was the city of Sihon^r king of the Amorites,^s who had fought against the former king of Moab^t and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.^u

²⁷That is why the poets say:

“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;

let Sihon’s city be restored.

²⁸“Fire went out from Heshbon,

a blaze from the city of Sihon.^v

It consumed^w Ar^x of Moab,

the citizens of Arnon’s heights.^y

²⁹Woe to you, Moab!^z

You are destroyed, people of Chemosh!^a

He has given up his sons as fugitives^b

and his daughters as captives^c

to Sihon king of the Amorites.

³⁰“But we have overthrown them;

Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.^d

We have demolished them as far as Nophah,

which extends to Medeba.^e”

³¹So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.^f

³²After Moses had sent spies^g to Jazer,^h the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. ³³Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashanⁱ,^j and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.^k

³⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.^l”

³⁵So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors.^m And they took possession of his land.ⁿ