| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there. | 1In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. |
| 2Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. | 2Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron. |
| 3And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! | 3The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished with our brothers before the LORD! |
| 4Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? | 4Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? |
| 5And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” | 5Why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates—and there is no water to drink!” |
| 6So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them. | 6Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. |
| 7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 7And the LORD said to Moses, |
| 8“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” | 8“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.” |
| 9So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. | 9So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he had been commanded. |
| 10And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” | 10Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” |
| 11Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. | 11Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink. |
| 12Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” | 12But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” |
| 13This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them. | 13These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them. |
| 14Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, | 14From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, |
| 15how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. | 15how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, |
| 16When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. | 16and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. |
| 17Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; 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.’ ” | 17Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” |
| 18Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.” | 18But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.” |
| 19So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” | 19“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.” |
| 20Then he said, “You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. | 20But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand. |
| 21Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him. | 21So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory, and Israel turned away from them. |
| 22Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. | 22After they had set out from Kadesh, the whole congregation of Israel came to Mount Hor. |
| 23And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: | 23And at Mount Hor, near the border of the land of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 24“Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. | 24“Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. |
| 25Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; | 25Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor. |
| 26and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” | 26Remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there.” |
| 27So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. | 27So Moses did as the LORD had commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole congregation. |
| 28Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. | 28After Moses had removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. |
| 29Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days. | 29When the whole congregation saw that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days. |
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