Numbers 20–21

¹And the sons of Israel come in,—all the company—to the wilderness of Zin, in the first month, and the people abide in Kadesh, and Miriam dieth there, and is buried there. ²And there hath been no water for the company, and they are assembled against Moses, and against Aaron, ³and the people strive with Moses, and speak, saying, ‘And oh that we had expired when our brethren expired before Jehovah! ⁴and why have ye brought in the assembly of Jehovah unto this wilderness to die there, we and our beasts? ⁵and why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to bring us in unto this evil place? no place of seed, and fig, and vine, and pomegranate; and water there is none to drink. ⁶And Moses and Aaron go in from the presence of the assembly unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and fall on their faces, and the honour of Jehovah is seen by them. ⁷And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

⁸‘Take the rod, and assemble the company, thou and Aaron thy brother; and ye have spoken unto the rock before their eyes, and it hath given its water, and thou hast brought out to them water from the rock, and hast watered the company, and their beasts.’ ⁹And Moses taketh the rod from before Jehovah, as He hath commanded him, ¹⁰and Moses and Aaron assemble the assembly unto the front of the rock, and he saith to them, ‘Hear, I pray you, O rebels, from this rock do we bring out to you water?’ ¹¹and Moses lifteth up his hand, and smiteth the rock with his rod twice; and much water cometh out, and the company drink, also their beasts. ¹²And Jehovah saith unto Moses, and unto Aaron, ‘Because ye have not believed in Me to sanctify Me before the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore ye do not bring in this assembly unto the land which I have given to them.’ ¹³These are waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel have ‘striven’ with Jehovah, and He is sanctified upon them.

¹⁴And Moses sendeth messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, ‘Thus said thy brother Israel, Thou—thou hast known all the travail which hath found us; ¹⁵that our fathers go down to Egypt, and we dwell in Egypt many days, and the Egyptians do evil to us and to our fathers; ¹⁶and we cry unto Jehovah, and He heareth our voice, and sendeth a messenger, and is bringing us out of Egypt; and lo, we are in Kadesh, a city in the extremity of thy border. ¹⁷Let us pass over, we pray thee, through thy land; we pass not over through a field, or through a vineyard, nor do we drink waters of a well; the way of the king we go, we turn not aside—right or left—till that we pass over thy border.’ ¹⁸And Edom saith unto him, ‘Thou dost not pass over through me, lest with sword I come out to meet thee.’ ¹⁹And the sons of Israel say unto him, ‘In the highway we go, and if of thy waters we drink—I and my cattle—then I have given their price; only (it is nothing) on my feet I pass over.’ ²⁰And he saith, ‘Thou dost not pass over;’ and Edom cometh out to meet him with much people, and with a strong hand; ²¹and Edom refuseth to suffer Israel to pass over through his border, and Israel turneth aside from off him.

²²And the sons of Israel, the whole company, journey from Kadesh, and come in unto mount Hor, ²³and Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron in mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴‘Aaron is gathered unto his people, for he doth not go in unto the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because that ye provoked My mouth at the waters of Meribah.

²⁵‘Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and cause them to go up mount Hor, ²⁶and strip Aaron of his garments, and thou hast clothed with them Eleazar his son, and Aaron is gathered, and doth die there.’ ²⁷And Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded, and they go up unto mount Hor before the eyes of all the company, ²⁸and Moses strippeth Aaron of his garments, and clotheth with them Eleazar his son, and Aaron dieth there on the top of the mount; and Moses cometh down—Eleazar also—from the mount, ²⁹and all the company see that Aaron hath expired, and they bewail Aaron thirty days—all the house of Israel.

Chapter 21

¹And the Canaanite—king Arad—dwelling in the south, heareth that Israel hath come the way of the Atharim, and he fighteth against Israel, and taketh some of them captive. ²And Israel voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, ‘If Thou dost certainly give this people into my hand, then I have devoted their cities;’ ³and Jehovah hearkeneth to the voice of Israel, and giveth up the Canaanite, and he devoteth them and their cities, and calleth the name of the place Hormah.

⁴And they journey from mount Hor, the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom, and the soul of the people is short in the way, ⁵and the people speak against God, and against Moses, ‘Why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to die in a wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water, and our soul hath been weary of this light bread.’ ⁶And Jehovah sendeth among the people the burning serpents, and they bite the people, and much people of Israel die; ⁷and the people come in unto Moses and say, ‘We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, and He doth turn aside from us the serpent;’ and Moses prayeth in behalf of the people. ⁸And Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘Make for thee a burning serpent, and set it on an ensign; and it hath been, every one who is bitten and hath seen it—he hath lived. ⁹And Moses maketh a serpent of brass, and setteth it on the ensign, and it hath been, if the serpent hath bitten any man, and he hath looked expectingly unto the serpent of brass—he hath lived.

¹⁰And the sons of Israel journey, and encamp in Oboth. ¹¹And they journey from Oboth, and encamp in Ije-Abarim, in the wilderness that is on the front of Moab, at the rising of the sun. ¹²From thence they have journeyed, and encamp in the valley of Zared. ¹³From thence they have journeyed, and encamp beyond Arnon, which is in the wilderness which is coming out of the border of the Amorite, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorite; ¹⁴therefore it is said in a book, ‘The wars of Jehovah,’—‘Waheb in Suphah, And the brooks of Arnon; ¹⁵And the spring of the brooks, Which turned aside to the dwelling of Ar, And hath leaned to the border of Moab.’ ¹⁶And from thence they journeyed to Beer; it is the well concerning which Jehovah said to Moses, ‘Gather the people, and I give to them—water.’ ¹⁷Then singeth Israel this song, concerning the well—they have answered to it: ¹⁸‘A well—digged it have princes, Prepared it have nobles of the people, With the lawgiver, with their staves.’ And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah, ¹⁹and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰and from Bamoth in the valley which is in the field of Moab to the top of Pisgah, which hath looked on the front of the wilderness.

²¹And Israel sendeth messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorite, saying, ²²‘Let me pass through thy land, we do not turn aside into a field, or into a vineyard, we do not drink waters of a well; in the king’s way we go, till that we pass over thy border.’ ²³And Sihon hath not suffered Israel to pass through his border, and Sihon gathereth all his people, and cometh out to meet Israel into the wilderness, and cometh in to Jahaz, and fighteth against Israel. ²⁴And Israel smiteth him by the mouth of the sword, and possesseth his land from Arnon unto Jabbok—unto the sons of Ammon; for the border of the sons of Ammon is strong. ²⁵And Israel taketh all these cities, and Israel dwelleth in all the cities of the Amorite, in Heshbon, and in all its villages; ²⁶for Heshbon is a city of Sihon king of the Amorite, and he hath fought against the former king of Moab, and taketh all his land out of his hand, unto Arnon; ²⁷therefore those using similes say—‘Enter ye Heshbon, Let the city of Sihon be built and ready, ²⁸For fire hath gone out from Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon, It hath consumed Ar of Moab, Owners of the high places of Arnon. ²⁹Woe to thee, O Moab, Thou hast perished, O people of Chemosh, He hath given his sons who escape—Also his daughters—Into captivity, to a king of the Amorite—Sihon! ³⁰And we shoot them, Perished hath Heshbon unto Dibon, And we make desolate unto Nophah, Which is unto Medeba.’ ³¹And Israel dwelleth in the land of the Amorite, ³²and Moses sendeth to spy out Jaazer, and they capture its villages, and dispossess the Amorite who is there, ³³and turn and go up the way of Bashan, and Og king of Bashan cometh out to meet them, he and all his people, to battle, at Edrei. ³⁴And Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘Fear him not, for into thy hand I have given him, and all his people, and his land, and thou hast done to him as thou hast done to Sihon king of the Amorite, who is dwelling in Heshbon.’ ³⁵And they smite him, and his sons, and all his people, until he hath not left to him a remnant, and they possess his land.

Chapter 22