Chapter 20

  In the first month all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Zin, and put up their tents in Kadesh; there death came to Miriam, and they put her body to rest in the earth.  

  And there was no water for the people: and they came together against Moses and against Aaron.  

  And the people were angry with Moses and said, If only death had overtaken us when our brothers came to their death before the Lord!  

  Why have you taken the Lord's people into this waste, for death to come to us and to our cattle there?  

  Why have you made us come out of Egypt into this evil place? This is no place of seed or figs or vines or other fruits, and there is no water for drinking.  

  Then Moses and Aaron went away from the people to the door of the Tent of meeting; and, falling on their faces there, they saw the glory of the Lord.  

  And the Lord said to Moses,  

  Take the rod, you and Aaron, your brother, and make all the people come together, and before their eyes give orders to the rock to give out its water; and so make water come out of the rock for them, and give the people and their cattle drink.  

  And Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he gave him orders.  

  Then Moses and Aaron made the people come together in front of the rock, and he said to them, Give ear now, you people whose hearts are turned from the Lord; are we to get water for you out of the rock?  

  And lifting up his hand, Moses gave the rock two blows with his rod: and water came streaming out, and the people and their cattle had drink enough.  

  Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you had not enough faith in me to keep my name holy before the children of Israel, you will not take this people into the land which I have given them.  

  These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel went against the Lord, and they saw that he was holy among them.  

  Then Moses sent men from Kadesh to the king of Edom to say to him, Your brother Israel says, You have knowledge of all the things we have been through;  

  How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we were living in Egypt for a long time; and the Egyptians were cruel to us and to our fathers:  

  And the Lord gave ear to the voice of our cry, and sent an angel and took us out of Egypt: and now we are in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your land;  

  Let us now go through your land: we will not go into field or vine-garden, or take the water of the springs; we will go by the highway, not turning to the right or to the left, till we have gone past the limits of your land.  

  And Edom said, You are not to go through my land, for if you do I will come out against you with the sword.  

  And the children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway: and if we or our cattle take of your water, we will give you a price for it: only let us go through on our feet, nothing more.  

  But he said, You are not to go through. And Edom came out against them in his strength, with a great army.  

  So Edom would not let Israel go through his land; and Israel went in another direction.  

  And they went on from Kadesh, and came, with all their people, to Mount Hor.  

  And at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,  

  Aaron will be put to rest with his people; he will not go into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you went against my word at the waters of Meribah.  

  So take Aaron and Eleazar, his son, up into Mount Hor;  

  And take Aaron's robes off him and put them on Eleazar, his son: and death will come to Aaron there, and he will be put to rest with his people.  

  So Moses did as the Lord had said, and before the eyes of all the people they went up Mount Hor.  

  And Moses took off Aaron's robes, and put them on Eleazar, his son; and there on the top of the mountain death came to Aaron: then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.  

  And when the people saw that Aaron was dead, all the children of Israel gave themselves up to weeping for him for thirty days.