< Ἀριθμοί 20 >
1 καὶ ἦλθον οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγή εἰς τὴν ἔρημον Σιν ἐν τῷ μηνὶ τῷ πρώτῳ καὶ κατέμεινεν ὁ λαὸς ἐν Καδης καὶ ἐτελεύτησεν ἐκεῖ Μαριαμ καὶ ἐτάφη ἐκεῖ
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 καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὕδωρ τῇ συναγωγῇ καὶ ἠθροίσθησαν ἐπὶ Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων
There was no water for the people to drink there, so they came to Aaron and Moses/me.
3 καὶ ἐλοιδορεῖτο ὁ λαὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγοντες ὄφελον ἀπεθάνομεν ἐν τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν ἔναντι κυρίου
They complained and said, “We wish that we had died in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Tent when our fellow Israelis died!
4 καὶ ἵνα τί ἀνηγάγετε τὴν συναγωγὴν κυρίου εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην ἀποκτεῖναι ἡμᾶς καὶ τὰ κτήνη ἡμῶν
(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 καὶ ἵνα τί τοῦτο ἀνηγάγετε ἡμᾶς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου παραγενέσθαι εἰς τὸν τόπον τὸν πονηρὸν τοῦτον τόπος οὗ οὐ σπείρεται οὐδὲ συκαῖ οὐδὲ ἄμπελοι οὐδὲ ῥόαι οὐδὲ ὕδωρ ἐστὶν πιεῖν
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 καὶ ἦλθεν Μωυσῆς καὶ Ααρων ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς συναγωγῆς ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον καὶ ὤφθη ἡ δόξα κυρίου πρὸς αὐτούς
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 καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων
and he said to Moses/me,
8 λαβὲ τὴν ῥάβδον καὶ ἐκκλησίασον τὴν συναγωγὴν σὺ καὶ Ααρων ὁ ἀδελφός σου καὶ λαλήσατε πρὸς τὴν πέτραν ἔναντι αὐτῶν καὶ δώσει τὰ ὕδατα αὐτῆς καὶ ἐξοίσετε αὐτοῖς ὕδωρ ἐκ τῆς πέτρας καὶ ποτιεῖτε τὴν συναγωγὴν καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν
“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 καὶ ἔλαβεν Μωυσῆς τὴν ῥάβδον τὴν ἀπέναντι κυρίου καθὰ συνέταξεν κύριος
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 καὶ ἐξεκκλησίασεν Μωυσῆς καὶ Ααρων τὴν συναγωγὴν ἀπέναντι τῆς πέτρας καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς ἀκούσατέ μου οἱ ἀπειθεῖς μὴ ἐκ τῆς πέτρας ταύτης ἐξάξομεν ὑμῖν ὕδωρ
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 καὶ ἐπάρας Μωυσῆς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπάταξεν τὴν πέτραν τῇ ῥάβδῳ δίς καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὕδωρ πολύ καὶ ἔπιεν ἡ συναγωγὴ καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν
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 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων ὅτι οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε ἁγιάσαι με ἐναντίον υἱῶν Ισραηλ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ εἰσάξετε ὑμεῖς τὴν συναγωγὴν ταύτην εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν δέδωκα αὐτοῖς
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 τοῦτο ὕδωρ ἀντιλογίας ὅτι ἐλοιδορήθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ἔναντι κυρίου καὶ ἡγιάσθη ἐν αὐτοῖς
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 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Μωυσῆς ἀγγέλους ἐκ Καδης πρὸς βασιλέα Εδωμ λέγων τάδε λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός σου Ισραηλ σὺ ἐπίστῃ πάντα τὸν μόχθον τὸν εὑρόντα ἡμᾶς
[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 καὶ κατέβησαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ παρῳκήσαμεν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἡμέρας πλείους καὶ ἐκάκωσαν ἡμᾶς οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν
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 καὶ ἀνεβοήσαμεν πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἰσήκουσεν κύριος τῆς φωνῆς ἡμῶν καὶ ἀποστείλας ἄγγελον ἐξήγαγεν ἡμᾶς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ νῦν ἐσμεν ἐν Καδης πόλει ἐκ μέρους τῶν ὁρίων σου
“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 παρελευσόμεθα διὰ τῆς γῆς σου οὐ διελευσόμεθα δῑ ἀγρῶν οὐδὲ δῑ ἀμπελώνων οὐδὲ πιόμεθα ὕδωρ ἐκ λάκκου σου ὁδῷ βασιλικῇ πορευσόμεθα οὐκ ἐκκλινοῦμεν δεξιὰ οὐδὲ εὐώνυμα ἕως ἂν παρέλθωμεν τὰ ὅριά σου
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 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν Εδωμ οὐ διελεύσῃ δῑ ἐμοῦ εἰ δὲ μή ἐν πολέμῳ ἐξελεύσομαι εἰς συνάντησίν σοι
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 καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ παρὰ τὸ ὄρος παρελευσόμεθα ἐὰν δὲ τοῦ ὕδατός σου πίωμεν ἐγώ τε καὶ τὰ κτήνη δώσω τιμήν σοι ἀλλὰ τὸ πρᾶγμα οὐδέν ἐστιν παρὰ τὸ ὄρος παρελευσόμεθα
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 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν οὐ διελεύσῃ δῑ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐξῆλθεν Εδωμ εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτῷ ἐν ὄχλῳ βαρεῖ καὶ ἐν χειρὶ ἰσχυρᾷ
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 καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν Εδωμ δοῦναι τῷ Ισραηλ παρελθεῖν διὰ τῶν ὁρίων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξέκλινεν Ισραηλ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ
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 καὶ ἀπῆραν ἐκ Καδης καὶ παρεγένοντο οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγή εἰς Ωρ τὸ ὄρος
The Israeli people left Kadesh. They went to Hor Mountain,
23 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων ἐν Ωρ τῷ ὄρει ἐπὶ τῶν ὁρίων γῆς Εδωμ λέγων
[which is at the border of Edom]. While they were there, Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
24 προστεθήτω Ααρων πρὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν δέδωκα τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ διότι παρωξύνατέ με ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς λοιδορίας
“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 λαβὲ τὸν Ααρων καὶ Ελεαζαρ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναβίβασον αὐτοὺς εἰς Ωρ τὸ ὄρος ἔναντι πάσης τῆς συναγωγῆς
Now you, Moses, take Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Hor Mountain.
26 καὶ ἔκδυσον Ααρων τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔνδυσον Ελεαζαρ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ Ααρων προστεθεὶς ἀποθανέτω ἐκεῖ
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 καὶ ἐποίησεν Μωυσῆς καθὰ συνέταξεν κύριος καὶ ἀνεβίβασεν αὐτὸν εἰς Ωρ τὸ ὄρος ἐναντίον πάσης τῆς συναγωγῆς
So Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded. The three of them/us climbed up Hor Mountain, while all the Israeli people watched.
28 καὶ ἐξέδυσεν Ααρων τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνέδυσεν αὐτὰ Ελεαζαρ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέθανεν Ααρων ἐπὶ τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ ὄρους καὶ κατέβη Μωυσῆς καὶ Ελεαζαρ ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους
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 καὶ εἶδεν πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγὴ ὅτι ἀπελύθη Ααρων καὶ ἔκλαυσαν τὸν Ααρων τριάκοντα ἡμέρας πᾶς οἶκος Ισραηλ
When the Israeli people realized that Aaron had died, they all mourned for him for 30 days.