Numbers 20
Young's Literal Translation
20 And 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.
2 And there hath been no water for the company, and they are assembled against Moses, and against Aaron,
3 and the people strive with Moses, and speak, saying, `And oh that we had expired when our brethren expired before Jehovah!
4 and why have ye brought in the assembly of Jehovah unto this wilderness to die there, we and our beasts?
5 and 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.
6 And 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.
7 And 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.'
9 And Moses taketh the rod from before Jehovah, as He hath commanded him,
10 and 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?'
11 and 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.
12 And 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.'
13 These [are] waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel have `striven' with Jehovah, and He is sanctified upon them.
14 And 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;
15 that our fathers go down to Egypt, and we dwell in Egypt many days, and the Egyptians do evil to us and to our fathers;
16 and 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.
17 Let 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.'
18 And Edom saith unto him, `Thou dost not pass over through me, lest with sword I come out to meet thee.'
19 And 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.'
20 And he saith, `Thou dost not pass over;' and Edom cometh out to meet him with much people, and with a strong hand;
21 and Edom refuseth to suffer Israel to pass over through his border, and Israel turneth aside from off him.
22 And the sons of Israel, the whole company, journey from Kadesh, and come in unto mount Hor,
23 and 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,
26 and strip Aaron of his garments, and thou hast clothed [with] them Eleazar his son, and Aaron is gathered, and doth die there.'
27 And Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded, and they go up unto mount Hor before the eyes of all the company,
28 and 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,
29 and all the company see that Aaron hath expired, and they bewail Aaron thirty days -- all the house of Israel.
Numbers 20
English Standard Version
The Death of Miriam
20 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came (A)into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And (B)Miriam died there and was buried there.
The Waters of Meribah
2 (C)Now there was no water for the congregation. (D)And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people (E)quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished (F)when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And (G)why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and (H)fell on their faces. (I)And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 (J)“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So (K)you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff (L)from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
Moses Strikes the Rock
10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, (M)“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, (N)and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because (O)you did not believe in me, (P)to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 (Q)These are the waters of Meribah,[a] where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.
Edom Refuses Passage
14 (R)Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to (S)the king of Edom: “Thus says (T)your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 (U)how our fathers went down to Egypt, (V)and we lived in Egypt a long time. (W)And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And (X)when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and (Y)sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 (Z)Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, (AA)or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 18 But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” 19 And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, (AB)and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, (AC)then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” 20 But he said, (AD)“You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom (AE)refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel (AF)turned away from him.
The Death of Aaron
22 And they journeyed from (AG)Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to (AH)Mount Hor. 23 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, 24 (AI)“Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because (AJ)you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron (AK)shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” 27 Moses did as the Lord commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 (AL)And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there (AM)on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, (AN)all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
Footnotes
- Numbers 20:13 Meribah means quarreling
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
