12. But the lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”
13. This place was known as the waters of Meribah (which means “arguing”) because there the people of Israel argued with the lord, and there he demonstrated his holiness among them.
14. While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message:“This is what your relatives, the people of Israel, say: You know all the hardships we have been through.
15. Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time, and we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians.
16. But when we cried out to the lord, he heard us and sent an angel who brought us out of Egypt. Now we are camped at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land.
17. Please let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road and never leave it until we have passed through your territory.”