Contact with a dead body
11The person who touches the dead body of any human will be unclean for seven days. 12That person must be cleansed with water on the third and seventh days to be clean. If he fails to be cleansed with water on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. 13Anyone who touches the body of a human who has died and doesn't cleanse himself defiles the LORD's dwelling. Such persons must be cut off from Israel because the water of purification wasn't sprinkled on them. They remain unclean.
14This is the instruction: When anyone dies in a tent, all who go into the tent and all who are in the tent are unclean for seven days. 15Any open jar without a sealed cover on it is unclean. 16Anyone in the open field who touches a person slain by the sword, or who died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 17For the unclean person, they will take some of the ashes of the purification offering and place fresh water with it in a jar. 18Then a clean person will take hyssop, dip it into the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the jars, on the people who were there, and on anyone who touched bone, the slain, the dead, or the grave. 19On the third day and the seventh day the clean person will sprinkle it on the unclean, so that he will have purified him on the seventh day. He will then wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be clean at evening. 20Any person who is unclean and didn't cleanse himself will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the LORD's sanctuary. He didn't have the water of purification sprinkled on him. He is unclean. 21This will be a permanent regulation for them. The one who sprinkles the water of purification will wash his own clothes. Anyone who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. 22Whoever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the one who touches the unclean will be unclean until evening.
Lawsuit over water and Moses' disobedience
Numbers 20In the first month,b the entire Israelite community entered the Zin desert and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there. 2Now there was no water for the community, and they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3Then the people confronted Moses and said to him, "If only we too had died when our brothers perished in the LORD's presence!4Why have you brought the LORD's assembly into this desert to kill us and our animals here?5Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place without grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates? And there's no water to drink!"
6Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the meeting tent and they fell on their faces. Then the LORD's glory appeared to them. 7The LORD spoke to Moses: 8"You and Aaron your brother, take the staff and assemble the community. In their presence, tell the rock to provide water. You will produce water from the rock for them and allow the community and their animals to drink."
9Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, as the LORD had commanded him. 10Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. He said to them, "Listen, you rebels! Should we produce water from the rock for you?"11Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice. Out flooded water so that the community and their animals could drink.
12The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you didn't trust me to show my holiness before the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I am giving them."13These were the waters of Meribah,c where the Israelites confronted the LORD with controversy and he showed his holiness to them.
The Israelites confront Edom
14Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "This is what your brother Israel says: 'You know all the adversity that has happened to us. 15How our ancestors went down to Egypt and lived in Egypt for a long time. The Egyptians oppressed us as they had our ancestors,16and we cried out to the LORD. He heard our voice, sent a messenger, and brought us out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17Please let us cross through your land. We won't pass through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will walk on the King's Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have crossed your border.'"
18Edom said to him, "You won't cross through, or I will come out against you with a sword."
19The Israelites said to him, "We'll go up by the road. If we drink from your water, either we or our livestock, we'll pay for it. It's a small matter. We would only ask to cross on foot."
20But he said, "You won't cross." Then Edom came out against them with a powerful army and a strong hand. 21Edom refused to allow Israel to cross his border. And Israel turned away from him. 22They marched from Kadesh.
Aaron's death at Mount Hor
The entire Israelite community came to Mount Hor. 23The LORD said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom: 24Aaron will join his ancestors, for he may not enter the land that I've given to the Israelites, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25Take Aaron and his son Eleazar, and bring them up Mount Hor. 26Strip Aaron of his clothes and put them on Eleazar his son. Then Aaron will die there.
27Moses did as the LORD commanded. They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the entire community. 28Moses stripped Aaron of his clothes and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there at the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar descended from the mountain. 29When the entire community saw that Aaron had died, the entire household of Israel wept thirty days for Aaron.
Defeat of the Canaanite king of Arad
Numbers 21When the Canaanite king of Arad, who ruled in the arid southern plain, heard that the Israelites were coming on the Atharim road, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2Then Israel made a solemn promise to the LORD and said, "If you give this people into our hands, we will completely destroy their city."3The LORD heard the voice of Israel and handed the Canaanites over. They completely destroyed them and their cities, so the name of the place is called Hormah.d
The bronze snake's healing power
4They marched from Mount Hor on the Reed Seae road around the land of Edom. The people became impatient on the road. 5The people spoke against God and Moses: "Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us in the desert, where there is no food or water. And we detest this miserable bread!"6So the LORD sent poisonousf snakes among the people and they bit the people. Many of the Israelites died.
7The people went to Moses and said, "We've sinned, for we spoke against the LORD and you. Pray to the LORD so that he will send the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8The LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous snake and place it on a pole. Whoever is bitten can look at it and live."9Moses made a bronze snake and placed it on a pole. If a snake bit someone, that person could look at the bronze snake and live.
March around Moab
10Then the Israelites marched and they camped at Oboth. 11They marched from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the desert on the border of Moab toward the east. 12From there they marched and camped in the Zered ravine. 13From there they marched and camped across the Arnon in the desert that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon was the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14For this reason the scroll of the LORD's wars says:
Waheb in Suphah and the ravines.
The Arnon 15and the ravines
that extend to the settlement of Ar
and lie along the border of Moab.