20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them,(A) as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live(B) and as surely as the glory of the Lord(C) fills the whole earth,(D) 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs(E) I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times(F) 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath(G) to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt(H) will ever see it.(I) 24 But because my servant Caleb(J) has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly,(K) I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.(L) 25 Since the Amalekites(M) and the Canaanites(N) are living in the valleys, turn(O) back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a](P)

26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.(Q) 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,(R) declares the Lord, I will do to you(S) the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall(T)—every one of you twenty years old or more(U) who was counted in the census(V) and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land(W) I swore with uplifted hand(X) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh(Y) and Joshua son of Nun.(Z) 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.(AA) 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall(AB) in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years,(AC) suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years(AD)—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land(AE)—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things(AF) to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.(AG)

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 14:25 Or the Sea of Reeds

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