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Numbers 20:3-13
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Numbers 20:3-13
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
3 And the people contended with Moses, and said, Would that we had died when our brethren died [in the plague] before the Lord!(A)
4 And why have you brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, we and our livestock?
5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place? It is no place of grain or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates. And there is no water to drink.
6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7 And the Lord said to Moses,
8 Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to give forth its water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.
9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as He commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation before the rock and Moses said to them, Hear now, you rebels; must we bring you water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock [a]twice. And the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe in (rely on, cling to) Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Israelites, you therefore [b]shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.(B)
13 These are the waters of Meribah [strife], where the Israelites contended with the Lord and He showed Himself holy among them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 20:11 “And the Rock was Christ,” as I Cor. 10:4 explains. Once smitten at Rephidim (Exod. 17:6ff.), He did not need to be smitten, crucified, again. To smite the rock twice was to imply that Christ’s death on the cross was not effectual or sufficient for time and eternity.
- Numbers 20:12 Possibly Moses was not aware of the significance of what he had been ordered to do, but nevertheless God held him responsible for not obeying Him exactly. Obedience to His will is vitally important, whether we understand His purpose or not. The motto “God’s will: nothing more; nothing less; nothing else; at any cost” would have been priceless to Moses and Aaron that day, if they had only followed it.
Numbers 20:3-13
New International Version
Numbers 20:3-13
New International Version
3 They quarreled(A) with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead(B) before the Lord!(C) 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,(D) that we and our livestock should die here?(E) 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.(F) And there is no water to drink!(G)”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting(H) and fell facedown,(I) and the glory of the Lord(J) appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff,(K) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.(L) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff(M) from the Lord’s presence,(N) just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together(O) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”(P) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water(Q) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy(R) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”(S)
13 These were the waters of Meribah,[a](T) where the Israelites quarreled(U) with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.(V)
Footnotes
- Numbers 20:13 Meribah means quarreling.
Numbers 20:3-13
King James Version
Numbers 20:3-13
King James Version
3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto 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.
6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.
7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11 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.
12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
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