Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan

14 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people ^(A)wept that night. ^2 (B)And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why has the Lord brought us to this land to ^[a]fall by the sword, that our wives and ^(C)children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, ^(D)“Let us select a leader and ^(E)return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron ^[b]fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

⁶ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ^(F)“The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the Lord ^(G)delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(H)‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ ⁹ Only ^(I)do not rebel against the Lord, ^(J)nor fear the people of the land, for ^(K)they^[c] are our bread; their protection has departed from them, ^(L)and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

^10 (M)And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now ^(N)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people ^(O)reject^[d] Me? And how long will they not ^(P)believe Me, with all the ^[e]signs which I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will ^(Q)make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³ And ^(R)Moses said to the Lord: ^(S)“Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have ^(T)heard that You, Lord, are among these people; that You, Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord was not ^(U)able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ^18 (V)‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, ^(W)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ ^19 (X)Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, ^(Y)according to the greatness of Your mercy, just ^(Z)as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, ^(AA)according to your word; ²¹ but truly, as I live, ^(AB)all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— ^22 (AC)because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now ^(AD)these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, ²³ they certainly shall not ^(AE)see the land of which I ^[f]swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant ^(AF)Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and ^(AG)has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. ²⁵ Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and ^(AH)move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”

Death Sentence on the Rebels

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ^27 (AI)“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? ^(AJ)I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ^(AK)‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: ²⁹ The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, ^(AL)all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. ^30 (AM)Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I ^[g]swore I would make you dwell in. ^31 (AN)But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall ^[h]know the land which ^(AO)you have despised. ³² But as for you, ^(AP)your^[i] carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your sons shall ^(AQ)be ^[j]shepherds in the wilderness ^(AR)forty years, and ^(AS)bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. ^34 (AT)According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^(AU)forty days, for each day you shall bear your ^[k]guilt one year, namely forty years, ^(AV)and you shall know My ^[l]rejection. ^35 (AW)I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all ^(AX)this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ”

³⁶ Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, ³⁷ those very men who brought the evil report about the land, ^(AY)died by the plague before the Lord. ^38 (AZ)But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.

A Futile Invasion Attempt^(BA)

³⁹ Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, ^(BB)and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, ^(BC)“Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

⁴¹ And Moses said, “Now why do you ^[m]transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ^42 (BD)Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; ^(BE)because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

^44 (BF)But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as ^(BG)Hormah.

Laws of Grain and Drink Offerings

15 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (BH)“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, ³ and you ^(BI)make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, ^(BJ)to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or ^(BK)in your appointed feasts, to make a ^(BL)sweet^[n] aroma to the Lord, from the herd or the flock, ⁴ then ^(BM)he who presents his offering to the Lord shall bring ^(BN)a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed ^(BO)with one-fourth of a hin of oil; ^5 (BP)and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each ^(BQ)lamb. ^6 (BR)Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; ⁷ and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the Lord. ⁸ And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a ^(BS)peace offering to the Lord, ⁹ then shall be offered ^(BT)with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; ¹⁰ and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

^11 (BU)‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat. ¹² According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number. ¹³ All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁴ And if a stranger ^[o]dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall he do. ^15 (BV)One ^[p]ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. ¹⁶ One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin^(A)

^53 (B)And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were ^(C)assembled all the ^(D)chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. ⁵⁴ But ^(E)Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

^55 (F)Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. ⁵⁶ For many bore ^(G)false witness against Him, but their testimonies ^[a]did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ^(H)‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” ⁵⁹ But not even then did their testimony agree.

^60 (I)And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶¹ But ^(J)He kept silent and answered nothing.

^(K)Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶² Jesus said, “I am. ^(L)And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the ^(M)blasphemy! What do you think?”

And they all condemned Him to be deserving of ^(N)death.

⁶⁵ Then some began to ^(O)spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers ^[b]struck Him with the palms of their hands.

Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps^(P)

^66 (Q)Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. ⁶⁷ And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with ^(R)Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

^69 (S)And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it again.

^(T)And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; ^(U)for you are a Galilean, ^[c]and your ^[d]speech shows it.”

⁷¹ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”

^72 (V)A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel^(A)

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A ^[a]Contemplation of David.