Numbers 20:6-21

⁶Moses and Aaron left the people and went to entrance of the Tent of Meeting. There they fell facedown on the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

⁷The Lord told Moses,

⁸“Take the walking stick and have the people gather around you. As they watch, you and your brother Aaron will order the rock and it will pour out water. You will bring water from the rock so the people and their livestock can drink.”

⁹Moses picked up the walking stick that was kept in the Lord's presence, as he had been ordered.

¹⁰Moses and Aaron had everyone gather in front of the rock. Moses said to them, “Listen, you bunch of rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?”

¹¹Then Moses picked up the walking stick and hit the rock twice. Streams of water gushed out so that the people and their livestock could drink.

¹²But the Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn't trust me enough to demonstrate how holy I am to the Israelites, you will not be the ones to lead them into the country I've given them.”

¹³The place where the Israelites argued with the Lord was called the waters of Meribah, and was where he revealed his holiness to them.

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, telling him, “This is what your brother Israel says. You know all about the difficulties we've faced.

¹⁵Our forefathers went to Egypt and we lived there for a long time. The Egyptians treated us and our forefathers badly,

¹⁶so we called out to the Lord for help, and he heard our cries. He sent an angel and led us out of Egypt. Listen, now we are in Kadesh, a town on the border of your territory.

¹⁷Please allow us to travel through your country. We won't cross any of your fields or vineyards, or drink water from any of your wells. We will stay on the King's Highway; we won't turn off either to the right or to the left until we have passed through your country.”

¹⁸But the king of Edom replied, “You are forbidden to travel through our country, otherwise we will come out and stop you by force.”

¹⁹“We'll keep to the main road,” the Israelites persisted. “If we or our livestock drink your water, we'll pay you for it. That's all we want—just to pass through on foot.”

²⁰But the king of Edom insisted, “You are forbidden to travel through our country!” He came out with his large and powerful army to meet the Israelites head-on.

²¹Since the king of Edom refused to allow Israel to travel through his territory, the Israelites had to turn back.