Num 20 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then the sons of Israel , the whole congregation , came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month ; and the people stayed at Kadesh . Now Miriam died there and was buried there .

Numbers 20

Death of Miriam

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

2 ^bThere was no water for the congregation, ^cand they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 ^dThen the people argued with Moses and spoke, saying, “ ^eIf only we had perished ^fwhen our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 ^gWhy then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die ^{▼▼Lit there}here? 5 Why did you make us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? ⁱIt is not a place of ^{▼▼Lit seed}grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink!” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^kfell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Waters of Meribah

8 “Take ^lthe staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff ^mfrom before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “ ⁿListen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and ^owater came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “ ^pSince you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were called the waters of ^{▼▼I.e., contention
,} ^rMeribah, ^{▼▼Or where}because the sons of Israel argued with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

14 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to ^tthe king of Edom to say, “This is what your brother Israel has said: ‘You ^uknow all the hardship that has ^{▼▼Lit found}overtaken us; 15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. 16 But ^wwhen we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent ^xan angel, and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please ^ylet us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s road, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”

18 ^zEdom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through ^{▼▼Lit me}us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” 19 Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the road, and if I and ^abmy livestock do drink any of your water, ^acthen I will ^{▼▼Lit give}pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, ^{▼▼Or no great thing}nothing more.” 20 But he said, “ ^afYou shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy ^{▼▼Lit people}force and a strong hand. 21 ^ahSo Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; ^aithen Israel turned away from him.

22 Now when they set out from ^ajKadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

Death of Aaron

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at ^akMount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Aaron will be ^algathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because ^amyou rebelled against My ^{▼▼Lit mouth}command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son ^aoEleazar, and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 Then strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be ^apgathered to his people and will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And after Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and ^aqput them on his son Eleazar, ^arAaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, the whole house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty ^asdays.