Numbers 14
Expanded Bible
The People Complain Again
14 That night all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] in the camp began crying loudly. 2 All the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] ·complained [grumbled] against Moses and Aaron, and all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] said to them, “We wish we had died in Egypt or in this ·desert [wilderness]. 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land to ·be killed with [L make us fall by] swords? Our wives and children will be ·taken away [war plunder]. We would be better off going back to Egypt.” 4 They said to each other, “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron ·bowed [L fell] facedown in front of all the ·Israelites [L assembly/crowd of the community/congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who had ·explored [spied on] the land, tore their clothes [C ritual of grief]. 7 They said to all of the ·Israelites [L community/congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel], “The land we ·explored [spied on] is very good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land and give us that ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8]. 9 Don’t ·turn [rebel] against the Lord! Don’t be afraid of the people in that land! We will chew them up. They have no protection, but the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.”
10 Then all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] talked about ·killing them with stones [stoning them]. But the glory of the Lord [C representing his manifest presence] appeared at the Meeting Tent to all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people ·ignore [despise] me? How long will they not believe me in spite of the ·miracles [signs] I have done among them? 12 I will ·give them a terrible sickness [L strike them with disease/pestilence] and ·get rid of [disinherit; dispossess] them. But I will make you into a great nation that will be stronger than they are [Ex. 32:10].”
13 Then Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it! You brought these people from there by your great power [Ex. 12–15], 14 and the Egyptians will tell this to those who live in this land [C Canaan]. They have already heard about you, Lord. They know that you are with your people and that you were seen face to face. They know that your cloud [C representing God’s presence] stays over your people and that you lead your people with that cloud during the day and with fire at night [Ex. 13:20–22]. 15 If you put these people to death all at once, the nations who have heard about your power will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he ·promised [swore to] them. So he ·killed [slaughtered] them in the ·desert [wilderness].’
17 “So show your strength now, Lord. Do what you said: 18 ‘The Lord ·doesn’t become angry quickly [is slow to anger], but he has great ·love [covenant love; loyalty; Ex. 34:6; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Nah. 1:3]. He forgives sin and ·law breaking [transgression]. But the Lord never forgets to punish guilty people. ·When parents sin, he will also punish [L He visits the sin/iniquity/guilt of the fathers on] their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren, and their great-great-grandchildren [Ex. 20:5–6].’ 19 By your great ·love [covenant love; loyalty], forgive these people’s sin, just as you have forgiven them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 The Lord answered, “I have forgiven them as you asked. 21 But, as surely as I live and as surely as my glory fills the whole earth, I make this promise: 22 All these people saw my glory and the ·miracles [signs] I did in Egypt and in the ·desert [wilderness], but they ·disobeyed me [L did not listen to my voice] and tested me ten times [C symbolic for many times]. 23 So not one of them will see the land I ·promised [swore to give] to their ancestors. No one who ·rejected [despised] me will see that land. 24 But my servant Caleb ·thinks differently [L has a different spirit] and follows me completely. So I will bring him into the land he has already seen, and his ·children [seed] will ·own [possess] that land [Josh. 15:13–19; Judg. 1:9–15]. 25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, leave tomorrow and follow the ·desert [Wilderness] road toward the ·Red [or Reed; Ex. 10:19] Sea.”
The Lord Punishes the People
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 27 “How long will these evil ·people [community; congregation; assembly] ·complain [grumble] about me? I have heard the ·complaining [grumbling] of these ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 28 So tell them, ‘This is ·what the Lord says [L the utterance/decree of the Lord]. I heard what you said, and as surely as I live, I will do those very things to you: 29 ·You will die [L Your dead bodies will fall] in this ·desert [wilderness]. Every one of you who is twenty years old or older [C of military age] and who was counted with the people [1:1–54]—all of you who ·complained [grumbled] against me—will die. 30 Not one of you will enter the land where I ·promised [L lifted my hand; C as when swearing an oath] you would live; only Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun will go in. 31 You said that your children would be ·taken away [war plunder], but I will bring them into the land to enjoy what you refused. 32 As for you, ·you will die [L your bodies will fall] in this ·desert [wilderness]. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years. Because you were ·not loyal [unfaithful; C the term suggests sexual unfaithfulness as a metaphor of spiritual unfaithfulness], they will suffer until ·you lie dead [the last of your bodies lie] in the ·desert [wilderness]. 34 For forty years you will suffer for your sins—a year for each of the forty days you ·explored [spied on] the land. You will know me as your enemy.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will certainly do these things to all ·these evil people [this evil community/congregation/assembly] who have come together against me. So they will all die here in this ·desert [wilderness].”
36 The men Moses had sent to ·explore [spy on] the land had returned and ·spread complaints [grumbled] among all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly]. They had given a bad report about the land. 37 The men who gave a very bad report died; the Lord killed them with a terrible ·sickness [plague]. 38 Only two of the men who ·explored [spied on] the land did not die—Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh.
39 When Moses told these things to all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], they ·were very sad [mourned greatly]. 40 Early the next morning they started to go toward the top of the mountains, saying, “We have sinned. We will go where the Lord told us.”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you ·disobeying [transgressing] the Lord’s command? You will not ·win [succeed]! 42 Don’t go, because the Lord is not with you and you will be ·beaten [struck down] by your enemies. 43 You will run into the Amalekites and Canaanites, who will ·kill [L fell] you with swords. You have turned away from the Lord, so the Lord will not be with you.”
44 But they were ·proud [presumptuous; reckless]. They went toward the top of the mountains, ·but [or even though] Moses and the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord did not leave the camp. 45 The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those mountains came down and ·attacked the Israelites [L struck them down] and beat them back all the way to Hormah.
Numbers 14
The Message
14 1-3 The whole community was in an uproar, wailing all night long. All the People of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The entire community was in on it: “Why didn’t we die in Egypt? Or in this wilderness? Why has God brought us to this country to kill us? Our wives and children are about to become plunder. Why don’t we just head back to Egypt? And right now!”
4 Soon they were all saying it to one another: “Let’s pick a new leader; let’s head back to Egypt.”
5 Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in front of the entire community, gathered in emergency session.
6-9 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, members of the scouting party, ripped their clothes and addressed the assembled People of Israel: “The land we walked through and scouted out is a very good land—very good indeed. If God is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land that flows, as they say, with milk and honey. And he’ll give it to us. Just don’t rebel against God! And don’t be afraid of those people. Why, we’ll have them for lunch! They have no protection and God is on our side. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10-12 But, up in arms now, the entire community was talking of hurling stones at them.
Just then the bright Glory of God appeared at the Tent of Meeting. Every Israelite saw it. God said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me like dirt? How long refuse to trust me? And with all these signs I’ve done among them! I’ve had enough—I’m going to hit them with a plague and kill them. But I’ll make you into a nation bigger and stronger than they ever were.”
13-16 But Moses said to God, “The Egyptians are going to hear about this! You delivered this people from Egypt with a great show of strength, and now this? The Egyptians will tell everyone. They’ve already heard that you are God, that you are on the side of this people, that you are present among them, that they see you with their own eyes in your Cloud that hovers over them, in the Pillar of Cloud that leads them by day and the Pillar of Fire at night. If you kill this entire people in one stroke, all the nations that have heard what has been going on will say, ‘Since God couldn’t get these people into the land which he had promised to give them, he slaughtered them out in the wilderness.’
17 “Now, please, let the power of the Master expand, enlarge itself greatly, along the lines you have laid out earlier when you said,
18 God, slow to get angry and huge in loyal love,
forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin;
Still, never just whitewashing sin.
But extending the fallout of parents’ sins
to children into the third,
even the fourth generation.
19 “Please forgive the wrongdoing of this people out of the extravagance of your loyal love just as all along, from the time they left Egypt, you have been forgiving this people.”
20-23 God said, “I forgive them, honoring your words. But as I live and as the Glory of God fills the whole Earth—not a single person of those who saw my Glory, saw the miracle signs I did in Egypt and the wilderness, and who have tested me over and over and over again, turning a deaf ear to me—not one of them will set eyes on the land I so solemnly promised to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with such repeated contempt will see it.
24 “But my servant Caleb—this is a different story. He has a different spirit; he follows me passionately. I’ll bring him into the land that he scouted and his children will inherit it.
25 “Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are so well established in the valleys, for right now change course and head back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea.”
26-30 God spoke to Moses and Aaron: “How long is this going to go on, all this grumbling against me by this evil-infested community? I’ve had my fill of complaints from these grumbling Israelites. Tell them, As I live—God’s decree—here’s what I’m going to do: Your corpses are going to litter the wilderness—every one of you twenty years and older who was counted in the census, this whole generation of grumblers and grousers. Not one of you will enter the land and make your home there, the firmly and solemnly promised land, except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
31-34 “Your children, the very ones that you said would be taken for plunder, I’ll bring in to enjoy the land you rejected while your corpses will be rotting in the wilderness. These children of yours will live as shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, living with the fallout of your whoring unfaithfulness until the last of your generation lies a corpse in the wilderness. You scouted out the land for forty days; your punishment will be a year for each day, a forty-year sentence to serve for your sins—a long schooling in my displeasure.
35 “I, God, have spoken. I will most certainly carry out these things against this entire evil-infested community which has banded together against me. In this wilderness they will come to their end. There they will die.”
36-38 So it happened that the men Moses sent to scout out the land returned to circulate false rumors about the land causing the entire community to grumble against Moses—all these men died. Having spread false rumors of the land, they died in a plague, confronted by God. Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were left alive of the men who went to scout out the land.
39-40 When Moses told all of this to the People of Israel, they mourned long and hard. But early the next morning they started out for the high hill country, saying, “We’re here; we’re ready—let’s go up and attack the land that God promised us. We sinned, but now we’re ready.”
41-43 But Moses said, “Why are you crossing God’s command yet again? This won’t work. Don’t attack. God isn’t with you in this—you’ll be beaten badly by your enemies. The Amalekites and Canaanites are ready for you and they’ll kill you. Because you have left off obediently following God, God is not going to be with you in this.”
44-45 But they went anyway; recklessly and arrogantly they climbed to the high hill country. But the Chest of the Covenant and Moses didn’t budge from the camp. The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in the hill country came out of the hills and attacked and beat them, a rout all the way down to Hormah.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson