Numbers 20:7-20

⁷Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

⁸“Take the staff and assemble the community, you, and Aaron your brother. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and command it to flow with water. You will produce water for them out of that rock, and you must give it to the community and their cattle to drink.”

⁹Moses took the staff from before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded him to do.

¹⁰Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock. Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels. Must we bring water out of this rock for you?”

¹¹Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, and much water came out. The community drank, and their cattle drank.

¹²Then Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me or honor me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.”

¹³This place was called the waters of Meribah because the people of Israel had quarreled with Yahweh there, and he showed himself to them as holy.

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: Your brother Israel says this: “You know all the difficulties that have happened to us.

¹⁵You know that our ancestors went down to Egypt and lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians treated us harshly and also our ancestors.

¹⁶When we called out to Yahweh, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the border of your land.

¹⁷I am asking you to let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, nor will we drink the water in your 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 your border.”

¹⁸But the king of Edom replied to him, “You may not pass through here. If you do, I will come with the sword to attack you.”

¹⁹Then the people of Israel said to him, “We will go along the highway. If we or our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us walk through on foot, without doing anything else.”

²⁰But the king of Edom replied, “You may not pass through.” So the king of Edom came against Israel with a strong hand with many soldiers.