Numbers 20; Numbers 21:1-30; Numbers 33:37-49

1 The people of Isra'el, the whole community, entered the Tzin Desert in the first month, and they stayed in Kadesh. There Miryam died, and there she was buried.

2 Because the community had no water, they assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon.

3 The people quarreled with Moshe and said, "We wish we had died when our brothers died before ADONAI.

4 Why did you bring ADONAI's community into this desert? To die there, we and our livestock?

5 Why did you make us leave Egypt? To bring us to this terrible place without seed, figs, grapevines, pomegranates or even water to drink?"

6 Moshe and Aharon left the assembly, went to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces; and the glory of ADONAI appeared to them.

7 ADONAI said to Moshe,

8 "Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink."

9 Moshe took the staff from the presence of ADONAI, as he had ordered him.

10 But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, "Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?"

11 Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, "Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Isra'el, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them."

13 This is M'rivah Spring [Disputation Spring], where the people of Isra'el disputed with ADONAI, and he was caused to be regarded as holy by them.

14 Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "This is what your brother Isra'el says: you know all the troubles we have gone through -

15 that our ancestors went down into Egypt, we lived in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly.

16 But when we cried out to ADONAI, he heard us, sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, a city at the edge of your territory.

17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not go through fields or vineyards, and we won't drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King's Highway, not turning aside either to the right or to the left until we have left your territory."

18 But Edom answered, "You are not to pass through my land; if you do, I will come out against you with the sword."

19 The people of Isra'el replied, "We will keep to the highway; if we do drink the water, either we or our livestock, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through on foot - it's nothing."

20 But he said, "You are not to pass through"; and Edom came out against them with many people and much force.

21 Thus Edom refused to allow Isra'el passage through its territory, so Isra'el turned away.

22 They traveled on from Kadesh; and the people of Isra'el, the whole community, arrived at Mount Hor.

23 At Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon,

24 "Aharon is about to be gathered to his people, because he is not to enter the land I have given to the people of Isra'el, inasmuch as you rebelled against what I said at the M'rivah Spring.

25 Take Aharon and El'azar his son, bring them up to Mount Hor,

26 remove the garments from Aharon and put them on El'azar his son. Aharon will be gathered to his people - he will die there."

27 Moshe did as ADONAI had ordered. They went up onto Mount Hor before the eyes of the whole community.

28 Moshe removed the garments from Aharon, and put them on El'azar his son, and Aharon died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moshe and El'azar came down the mountain.

29 When the entire community saw that Aharon was dead, they mourned Aharon thirty days, the whole house of Isra'el.

1 Then the king of 'Arad, a Kena'ani who lived in the Negev, heard that Isra'el was approaching by way of Atarim, so he attacked Isra'el and took some of them captive.

2 Isra'el made a vow to ADONAI, "If you will hand this people over to me, I will completely destroy their cities."

3 ADONAI listened to what Isra'el said and handed over the Kena'anim, so they completely destroyed them and their cities and named the place Hormah [complete destruction].

4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor on the road toward the Sea of Suf in order to go around the land of Edom; but the people's tempers grew short because of the detour.

5 The people spoke against God and against Moshe: "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To die in the desert? There's no real food, there's no water, and we're sick of this miserable stuff we're eating!"

6 In response, ADONAI sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Isra'el's people died.

7 The people came to Moshe and said, "We sinned by speaking against ADONAI and against you. Pray to ADONAI that he rid us of these snakes." Moshe prayed for the people,

8 and ADONAI answered Moshe: "Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live."

9 Moshe made a bronze snake and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze snake, he stayed alive.

10 The people of Isra'el traveled on and camped at Ovot.

11 From Ovot they traveled and camped at 'Iyei-Ha'avarim, in the desert fronting Mo'av on the east.

12 From there they traveled and camped in Vadi Zered.

13 From there they traveled and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the desert; this river comes out of the territory of the Emori; for the Arnon is the boundary between Mo'av and the Emori.

14 This is why it says, in the Book of the Wars of ADONAI, ". . . Vahev at Sufah, the vadis of Arnon,

15 and the slope of the vadis extending as far as the site of 'Ar, which lie next to the territory of Mo'av."

16 From there they went on to Be'er [well]; that is the well about which ADONAI said to Moshe, "Assemble the people, and I will give them water."

17 Then Isra'el sang this song: "Spring up, oh well! Sing to the well

18 sunk by the princes, dug by the people's leaders with the scepter, with their staffs!" From the desert they went to Mattanah,

19 from Mattanah to Nachali'el, from Nachali'el to Bamot,

20 and from Bamot to the valley by the plain of Mo'av at the start of the Pisgah range, where it overlooks the desert.

21 Isra'el sent messengers to Sichon, king of the Emori, with this message:

22 "Let me pass through your land. We won't turn aside into fields or vineyards, and we won't drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King's Highway until we have left your territory."

23 But Sichon would not allow Isra'el to pass through his territory. Instead, Sichon mustered all his people and went out into the desert to fight Isra'el. On reaching Yachatz, he fought Isra'el.

24 Isra'el defeated him by force of arms and took control of his land from the Arnon to the Yabok River, but only as far as the people of 'Amon, because the territory of the people of 'Amon was well defended.

25 Isra'el took all these cities - Isra'el lived in all the cities of the Emori, in Heshbon and all its surrounding towns.

26 Heshbon was the city of Sichon, the king of the Emori, who had fought against the former king of Mo'av and conquered all his land up to the Arnon.

27 This is why the storytellers say, "Come to Heshbon! Let it be rebuilt! Let Sichon's city be restored!

28 "For fire burst out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon. It consumed 'Ar of Mo'av, the lords of Arnon's high places.

29 "Woe to you, Mo'av! You are destroyed, people of K'mosh! He let his sons be fugitives and his daughters captives of Sichon, king of the Emori.

30 "We shot them down; Heshbon is destroyed, all the way to Divon. We even laid waste to Nofach, which extends as far as Meidva."

37 They moved on from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the border of the land of Edom.

38 At ADONAI's order Aharon the cohen went up on Mount Hor, and he died there on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the people of Isra'el had left the land of Egypt.

39 Aharon was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 The Kena'ani king of 'Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Kena'an, had heard that the people of Isra'el were coming;

41 so they moved on from Mount Hor and camped at Tzalmonah.

42 They moved on from Tzalmonah and camped at Punon.

43 They moved on from Punon and camped at Ovot.

44 They moved on from Ovot and camped 'Iyei-Ha'Avarim, at the border of Mo'av.

45 They moved on from 'Iyim and camped at Divon-Gad.

46 They moved on from Divon-Gad and camped at 'Almon-Divlatayim.

47 They moved on from Almon-Divlatayim and camped in the 'Avarim Range, in front of N'vo.

48 They moved on from the 'Avarim Range and camped in the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden, across from Yericho.

49 Their camp by the Yarden extended from Beit-HaYeshimot all the way to Avel-HaSheetim in the plains of Mo'av.