Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
And the people strived with Moses, and spoke, saying, Would God that we had died when our brothers died before the LORD!
And why have you brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
And why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell on their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared to them.
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Take the rod, and gather you the assembly together, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak you to the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock: so you shall give the congregation and their beasts drink.
And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus said your brother Israel, You know all the travail that has befallen us:
How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelled in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
And when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and has brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of your border:
Let us pass, I pray you, through your country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your borders.
And Edom said to him, You shall not pass by me, lest I come out against you with the sword.
And the children of Israel said to him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of your water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet.
And he said, You shall not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: why Israel turned away from him.
And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came to mount Hor.
And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,
Aaron shall be gathered to his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.
Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to mount Hor:
And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there.
And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
Canonical academic citations for Numbers 20 (AKJV) — copy in your preferred format.
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At Kadesh Miriam dies. People protest lack of water; God tells Moses to speak to the rock, but he strikes it twice—water flows, yet Moses and Aaron are barred from the land. Edom refuses passage. On Mount Hor Aaron dies; Eleazar becomes high priest and Israel mourns 30 days.
The journey and trials of the Israelites.
Numbers 20 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.