Numbers 21:4-20

4The Israelites left Hor mountain. They travelled round the edge of Edom to the Red Sea. As they travelled, the people were upset.

5They complained to God and to Moses, ‘You should not have brought us from Egypt to die here in the desert. There is nothing to eat. There is no water to drink. We do not like this bad food, manna.’

6Then the Lord sent snakes among the people. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died.

7So the people came to Moses and they said, ‘We did a bad thing when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Please pray to the Lord on our behalf. Ask him to remove the snakes from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.

8The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a model of a snake and put it up high on a pole. When a snake bites anyone, they must look at the bronze snake. Then they will not die.’

9Moses made a bronze snake and he put it on a pole. When a snake bit anyone and they looked at the bronze snake, they did not die.

10The Israelites put up their tents at Oboth.

11Then they travelled from Oboth, and they put up their tents at Iye-Abarim, in the desert. That place is on the east border of the country called Moab.

12Then they put up their tents in Zered valley.

13Then they left there and they put up their tents on the north side of the River Arnon. The River Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.

14You can read about this in the Book of the Lord's Wars. It talks about Waheb in Suphah and about the valleys of the River Arnon.

15It also speaks about the sides of the valleys on the border of Moab that lead to the town of Ar.

16From there, the Israelites continued to travel until they arrived at Beer. That is the well where the Lord had said to Moses, ‘Bring the people together. Then I will give water to them.’

17The Israelites sang this song at that well: ‘Sing to this well. Ask it to give water to us.

18This was the well that our rulers dug. Our leaders dug it with their sceptres and their ruler's sticks.’ After that, the Israelites went from the desert to Mattanah.

19Then they went from Mattanah to Nahaliel. They went from Nahaliel to Bamoth.

20They went from Bamoth to the valley in the region of Moab. They put up their tents near the top of Pisgah mountain that is high above the desert.