Numbers 20

1 And the children of Israel, and all the multitude came into the desert of Sin, in the first month: and the people abode in Cades. And Mary died there, and was buried in the same place.

In March/April [of the next year], the Israeli people traveled/walked to the Zin Desert and (camped/set up their tents) near Kadesh [town]. While they/we were there, [Moses’/my older sister] Miriam died and was buried there.

2 And the people wanting water, came together against Moses and Aaron:

There was no water for the people to drink there, so they came to Aaron and Moses/me.

3 And making a sedition, they said: Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord.

They complained and said, “We wish that we had died in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Tent when our fellow Israelis died!

4 Why have you brought out the church of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die?

(Did you bring us, who are Yahweh’s people, into this desert to die along with our livestock?/You brought us, who are Yahweh’s people, into this desert to die along with our livestock!) [RHQ]

5 Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink?

Why did you bring us from Egypt to this miserable place [RHQ]? There is no grain, there are no figs, no grapes, and no pomegranates here. And there is no water for us to drink!”

6 And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them.

Aaron and Moses/I turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Sacred Tent and prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground. Then Yahweh appeared to them/us with his bright glory,

7 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

and he said to Moses/me,

8 Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink.

“You and Aaron must take Aaron’s walking stick with you and gather all the people together. While the people are watching, command that water will flow out of that [large] rock over there. Water for the people will flow from it; all they and all their livestock will have enough water to drink.”

9 Moses therefore took the rod, which was before the Lord, as he had commanded him,

So Moses/I did what Yahweh told him/me to do. He/I took Aaron’s walking stick from the place in the Sacred Tent where it was kept.

10 And having gathered together the multitude before the rock, he said to them: Hear, ye rebellious and incredulous: Can we bring you forth water out of this rock?

Then Aaron and he/I summoned all the people to gather at the rock. Then Moses/I shouted to them, “All you rebellious people, listen! Is it necessary for us to give you water from this rock?”

11 And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank,

Then Moses/I raised his/my hand and [instead of speaking to the rock], he/I struck the rock two times with the walking stick. And water gushed/poured out. So all the people and their livestock drank all the water that they wanted.

12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you have not believed me, to sanctify me before the children of Israel, you shall not bring these people into the land, which I will give them.

But Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, “You did not believe that I could demonstrate my power to the Israeli people [and give them water without your striking the rock]. So you will not lead them into the land that I am giving to them!”

13 This is the Water of contradiction, where the children of Israel strove with words against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.

Later this place was called Meribah, [which means ‘arguing’], because there the Israeli people argued with Yahweh, and there he showed his power to them [by giving them water].

14 In the mean time Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, to say: Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the labour that hath come upon us:

[While the people were] at Kadesh [town], Moses/I sent messengers to the king of Edom to tell him this: “Your relatives, the Israeli people, are sending you this message. You know the many troubles/hardships that have happened to us.

15 In what manner our fathers went down into Egypt, and there we dwelt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers.

You know that our ancestors went down to Egypt. You know that they stayed there for many years. They suffered because the [rulers of] Egypt caused them to become their slaves [and to work very hard].

16 And how we cried to the Lord, and he heard us, and sent an angel, who hath brought us out of Egypt. Lo, we are now in the city of Cades, which is in the uttermost of thy borders,

“But when they called out to Yahweh, he heard them and sent an angel who brought them out of Egypt. Now we have set up our tents here at Kadesh, a town at the border of your land.

17 And we beseech thee that we may have leave to pass through thy country. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards, we will not drink the waters of thy wells, but we will go by the common highway, neither turning aside to the right hand, nor to the left, till we are past thy borders.

Please allow us to travel through your country. We will [be careful to] not walk through your fields and your vineyards. We will not even drink water from your wells. As we travel, we will stay on the king’s highway, [the main road that goes from the south to the north], and we will not leave that road until we have crossed the border [of your country in the north].”

18 And Edom answered them: Thou shalt not pass by me: if thou dost I will come out armed against thee.

But the king of Edom refused. He replied, “Stay out of my country! If you try [to enter it], I will [send my army to] attack you!”

19 And the children of Israel said: We will go by the beaten way: and if we and our cattle drink of thy waters, we will give thee what is just: there shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us pass speedily.

The Israeli messengers replied, “[If we travel through your country], we will stay on the main road. If we and any of our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We want only to travel through your country. We do not want anything else.”

20 But he answered: Thou shalt not pass. And immediately he came forth to meet them with an infinite multitude, and a strong hand,

But the king replied, “No! Stay out of our country! We will not [allow you] to travel through our land!” Then he sent the strongest soldiers in his army to prevent the Israelis [from entering his country].

21 Neither would he condescend to their desire to grant them passage through his borders. Wherefore Israel turned another way from him.

So, because [the king of] Edom refused to allow the Israelis to travel through his country, the Israelis turned [and traveled a different way].

22 And when they had removed the camp from Cades, they came to mount Her, which is in the borders of the land of Edom:

The Israeli people left Kadesh. They went to Hor Mountain,

23 Where the Lord spoke to Moses:

[which is at the border of Edom]. While they were there, Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,

24 Let Aaron, saith he, go to his people: for he shall not go into the land which I have given the children of Israel, because he was incredulous to my words, at the waters of contradiction.

“It is time for Aaron to die [EUP]. He will not enter the land that I am giving to you Israelis, because the two of you disobeyed me [when I told you to speak to the rock to cause] the water [to flow] at Meribah.

25 Take Aaron and his son with him, and bring them up into mount Hor:

Now you, Moses, take Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Hor Mountain.

26 And when thou hast stripped the father of his vesture, thou shalt vest therewith Eleazar his son: Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and die there.

There you must remove Aaron’s robes [that he wears when he does the work of a priest], and put them on his son, Eleazar. Aaron will die up there.”

27 Moses did as the Lord had commanded: and they went up into mount Hor before all the multitude.

So Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded. The three of them/us climbed up Hor Mountain, while all the Israeli people watched.

28 And when he had stripped Aaron of his vestments, he vested Eleazar his son with them. And Aaron being dead in the top of the mountain, he came down with Eleazar.

At the top of the mountain, Moses/I took off the robes that Aaron wore [while he did the work of a priest] and put them on Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on the top of the mountain, and Eleazar and Moses/I went back down.

29 And all the multitude seeing that Aaron was dead, mourned for him thirty days throughout all their families.

When the Israeli people realized that Aaron had died, they all mourned for him for 30 days.