His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

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.

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^26 (A)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(B)they went out to ^(C)the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will ^(D)strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised up, ^(E)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^29 (F)Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” ³⁰ And ^(G)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before ^(H)the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” ³¹ But ^(I)he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^32 (J)And they went ^(K)to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ And he took with him ^(L)Peter and James and John, and began ^(M)to be greatly distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And he said to them, ^(N)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and ^(O)watch.”^{[a] 35} And going a little farther, he fell on the ground ^(P)and prayed that, if it were possible, ^(Q)the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, ^(R)“Abba, Father, ^(S)all things are possible for you. Remove ^(T)this cup from me. ^(U)Yet not what I will, but what you will.” ³⁷ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? ^38 (V)Watch and ^(W)pray that you may not ^(X)enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again he went away and prayed, ^(Y)saying the same words. ⁴⁰ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(Z)their eyes were very heavy, and ^(AA)they did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹ And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? ^(AB)It is enough; ^(AC)the hour has come. ^(AD)The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^43 (AE)And immediately, while he was still speaking, ^(AF)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ^(AG)“Rabbi!” And he ^(AH)kissed him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on him and seized him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his ^(AI)sword and struck the servant^[b] of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? ^49 (AJ)Day after day I was with you in the temple ^(AK)teaching, and you did not seize me. But ^(AL)let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” ^50 (AM)And they all left him and fled.

A Young Man Flees

⁵¹ And a young man followed him, with nothing but ^(AN)a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, ⁵² but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.