民数记 14
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
以色列人发怨言
14 当晚，全体会众放声大哭，整夜哀号。 2 他们埋怨摩西和亚伦说：“我们还不如死在埃及或旷野！ 3 耶和华为什么把我们领到这里来，让我们死于刀下？我们的妻儿必被掳去。我们还不如返回埃及。” 4 他们彼此议论说：“我们选一位首领带我们回埃及吧！”
5 摩西和亚伦俯伏在以色列全体会众面前。 6 打探迦南的人中，嫩的儿子约书亚和耶孚尼的儿子迦勒撕裂衣服， 7 对以色列全体会众说：“我们去打探的地方是佳美之地。 8 如果耶和华喜悦我们，祂必把我们带到那片土地，将那奶蜜之乡赐给我们。 9 你们不要背叛耶和华，也不要害怕那里的人，他们不过是我们的猎物，他们已失去庇护。耶和华与我们同在，不要怕他们。” 10 但全体会众威胁要用石头打死他们二人。这时耶和华的荣光在会幕中向以色列人显现。
11 耶和华对摩西说：“这些人藐视我要到何时呢？我在他们中间行了这么多神迹，他们仍然不相信我。 12 我要用瘟疫毁灭他们，不让他们承受那片土地。但我要使你成为大国，比他们更强盛。” 13 摩西对耶和华说：“你曾经用大能把以色列人从埃及领出来，埃及人听说这事后， 14 一定会告诉迦南的居民。那里的居民早已听说你耶和华与以色列人同在，你面对面向他们显现，你的云彩停留在他们上面，你白天用云柱、黑夜用火柱引导他们。 15 如果你把他们全部消灭，那些听过你威名的列国就会议论说， 16 ‘耶和华无法把以色列人领到祂起誓要赐给他们的地方，所以在旷野把他们杀了。’ 17 因此，求主彰显伟大的权能，正如你所宣告的， 18 ‘耶和华不轻易发怒，充满慈爱；祂赦免罪恶和过犯，但决不免除罪责，必向子孙追讨父辈的罪债，直到三四代。’ 19 从他们离开埃及直到现在，你一直在饶恕他们，求你以伟大的慈爱再次赦免这些人的罪。”
20 耶和华说：“我听你的祈求，赦免他们。 21 但我凭我的永恒起誓，正如大地充满我的荣耀一样确实， 22-23 他们绝对看不到我起誓要赐给他们祖先的土地，藐视我的人都看不到那片土地。这些人见过我的荣耀，见过我在埃及和旷野所行的神迹，却仍然不听我的话，试探我十次之多。 24 但我的仆人迦勒并非如此，他全心跟从我，所以我必带他进入那片他去过的土地，让他的子孙拥有那片产业。 25 由于亚玛力人和迦南人住在山谷中，明天你们要转回，沿红海的路前往旷野。”
26 耶和华对摩西和亚伦说： 27 “这邪恶的会众向我发怨言要到何时呢？我已听见以色列人对我的埋怨。 28 你们去把我的话告诉他们，‘以色列人啊，我凭我的永恒起誓，我必照你们所说的对待你们。 29 你们当中凡登记在册、二十岁以上向我发怨言的人，必倒毙在这旷野中， 30 除耶孚尼的儿子迦勒和嫩的儿子约书亚之外，你们无人能进入我起誓应许的那片土地。 31 你们说你们的儿女会被掳去，但我要把他们带到那里，让他们享有那片你们厌弃的土地。 32 而你们必死在这旷野。 33 你们的儿女要在旷野飘泊四十年，为你们的不忠而受苦，直到你们都死在旷野。 34 你们打探了那地方四十天，你们要为自己的罪受苦四十年，一年顶一天。那时，你们就知道与我为敌的后果。’ 35 我耶和华已经说过。我必使你们这群与我为敌的恶人死在旷野，无一幸免。”
36 摩西派去打探迦南的人回来以后危言耸听，以致会众向摩西发怨言。 37 打探的人因而染上瘟疫，死在耶和华面前， 38 只有嫩的儿子约书亚和耶孚尼的儿子迦勒得以幸免。
39 摩西传达完耶和华的话后，以色列人非常悲伤。 40 他们次日清早起来到山顶去，说：“我们知罪了，现在我们要去耶和华应许的地方。” 41 摩西说：“你们为什么要违背耶和华的命令？你们不会成功的。 42 不要去！耶和华已经不在你们中间，你们会被敌人打败。 43 你们会遇见亚玛力人和迦南人，并丧身在他们刀下，因为你们离弃耶和华，祂不再与你们同在。” 44 尽管耶和华的约柜和摩西都没有出营，他们却擅自上山顶去。 45 住在山区的亚玛力人和迦南人下来击溃了他们，一路追杀他们到何珥玛。
Numbers 14
King James Version
14 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
3 And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
8 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.
10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
11 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
13 And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
16 Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
18 The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
20 And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
26 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me.
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
36 And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
37 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.
39 And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
40 And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned.
41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.
42 Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.
43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.
44 But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
45 Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
Numbers 14
Common English Bible
The Israelites’ complaint
14 The entire community raised their voice and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites criticized Moses and Aaron. The entire community said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt or if only we had died in this desert! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our children will be taken by force. Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to each other, “Let’s pick a leader and let’s go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the assembled Israelite community. 6 But Joshua, Nun’s son, and Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, from those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we crossed through to explore is an exceptionally good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he’ll bring us into this land and give it to us. It’s a land that’s full of milk and honey. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are our prey.[a] Their defense has deserted them, but the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.” 10 But the entire community intended to stone them.
The Lord’s anger and Moses’ intercession
Then the Lord’s glory appeared in the meeting tent to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people disrespect me? And how long will they doubt me after all the signs that I performed among them? 12 I’ll strike them down with a plague and disown them. Then I’ll make you into a great nation, stronger than they.”
13 Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear, for with your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 They’ll tell the inhabitants of this land. They’ve heard that you, Lord, are with this people. You, Lord, appear to them face-to-face. Your cloud stands over them. You go before them in a column of cloud by day and in a column of lightning by night. 15 If you kill these people, every last one of them, the nations who heard about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord wasn’t able to bring these people to the land that he solemnly promised to give them. So he slaughtered them in the desert.’ 17 Now let my master’s power be as great as you declared when you said, 18 ‘The Lord is very patient and absolutely loyal, forgiving wrongs and disloyalty. Yet he doesn’t forgo all punishment, disciplining the grandchildren and great-grandchildren for their ancestors’ wrongs.’ 19 Please forgive the wrongs of these people because of your absolute loyalty, just as you’ve forgiven these people from their time in Egypt until now.”
20 Then the Lord said, “I will forgive as you requested. 21 But as I live and as the Lord’s glory fills the entire earth, 22 none of the men who saw my glory and the signs I did in Egypt and in the desert, but tested me these ten times and haven’t listened to my voice, 23 will see the land I promised to their ancestors. All who disrespected me won’t see it. 24 But I’ll bring my servant Caleb into the land that he explored, and his descendants will possess it because he has a different spirit, and he has remained true to me. 25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valley, tomorrow turn and march into the desert by the route of the Reed Sea.”[b]
The Israelites’ punishment
26 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 27 How long will this wicked community complain against me? I’ve heard the Israelites’ dissent as they continue to complain against me. 28 Say to them, “As I live,” says the Lord, “just as I’ve heard you say, so I’ll do to you. 29 Your dead bodies will fall in this desert. None of you who were enlisted and were registered from 20 years old and above, who complained against me, 30 will enter the land in which I promised[c] to settle you, with the exception of Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, and Joshua, Nun’s son. 31 But your children, whom you said would be taken by force, I’ll bring them in and they will know the land that you rejected. 32 Your bodies, however, will fall in this desert, 33 and your children will be shepherds in the desert for forty years. They will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies fall in the desert. 34 For as many days as you explored the land, that is, forty days, just as many years you’ll bear your guilt, that is, forty years. This is how you will understand my frustration.” 35 I the Lord have spoken. I will do this to the entire wicked community who gathered against me. They will die in this desert. There they’ll meet their end.
36 The men whom Moses sent out to explore the land had returned and caused the entire community to complain against him by starting a rumor about the land. 37 These men died by a plague in the Lord’s presence on account of their false rumor. 38 But Joshua, Nun’s son, and Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, survived from those men who went to explore the land.
39 Moses spoke these words to all the Israelites, and the people mourned bitterly. 40 They rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain range, saying, “Let’s go up to the place the Lord told us to, for we have sinned.”
41 But Moses said, “Why do you disobey the Lord’s command? It won’t succeed. 42 Don’t go up, for the Lord isn’t with you. Don’t be struck down before your enemies. 43 The Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you and you will fall by the sword because you turned away from the Lord, and the Lord is no longer with you.” 44 Yet they recklessly[d] ascended toward the top of the mountains, even though Moses and the Lord’s chest containing the covenant didn’t depart from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites, who lived in those mountains, descended, struck them down, and beat them all the way to Hormah.
Footnotes
- Numbers 14:9 Or our bread
- Numbers 14:25 Or Red Sea
- Numbers 14:30 Or raised my hand
- Numbers 14:44 Heb uncertain
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible