10. After he and Aaron had gathered the people around the rock, he said, “Look, you rebellious people, and you will see water flow from this rock!”
11. He raised his stick in the air and struck the rock two times. At once, water gushed from the rock, and the people and their livestock had water to drink.
12. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you refused to believe in my power, these people did not respect me. And so, you will not be the ones to lead them into the land I have promised.”
13. The Israelites had complained against the Lord, and he had shown them his holy power by giving them water to drink. So they named the place Meribah, which means “Complaining”.
14. Moses sent messengers from Israel's camp near Kadesh with this message for the king of Edom:We are Israelites, your own relatives, and we're sure you have heard the terrible things that have happened to us.
15. Our ancestors settled in Egypt and lived there a long time. But later the Egyptians were cruel to us,
16. and when we begged our Lord for help, he answered our prayer and brought us out of that land.Now we are camped at the border of your territory, near the town of Kadesh.
17. Please let us go through your country. We won't go near your fields and vineyards, and we won't drink any water from your wells. We will stay on the main road until we leave your territory.