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Numbers 11-14
The Message
Numbers 11-14
The Message
Camp Taberah
11 1-3 The people fell to grumbling over their hard life. God heard. When he heard his anger flared; then fire blazed up and burned the outer boundaries of the camp. The people cried out for help to Moses; Moses prayed to God and the fire died down. They named the place Taberah (Blaze) because fire from God had blazed up against them.
Camp Kibroth Hattaavah
4-6 The misfits among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna.”
7-9 Manna was a seedlike substance with a shiny appearance like resin. The people went around collecting it and ground it between stones or pounded it fine in a mortar. Then they boiled it in a pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a delicacy cooked in olive oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna was right there with it.
10 Moses heard the whining, all those families whining in front of their tents. God’s anger blazed up. Moses saw that things were in a bad way.
11-15 Moses said to God, “Why are you treating me this way? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Did I conceive them? Was I their mother? So why dump the responsibility of this people on me? Why tell me to carry them around like a nursing mother, carry them all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people who are whining to me, ‘Give us meat; we want meat.’ I can’t do this by myself—it’s too much, all these people. If this is how you intend to treat me, do me a favor and kill me. I’ve seen enough; I’ve had enough. Let me out of here.”
16-17 God said to Moses, “Gather together seventy men from among the leaders of Israel, men whom you know to be respected and responsible. Take them to the Tent of Meeting. I’ll meet you there. I’ll come down and speak with you. I’ll take some of the Spirit that is on you and place it on them; they’ll then be able to take some of the load of this people—you won’t have to carry the whole thing alone.
18-20 “Tell the people, Consecrate yourselves. Get ready for tomorrow when you’re going to eat meat. You’ve been whining to God, ‘We want meat; give us meat. We had a better life in Egypt.’ God has heard your whining and he’s going to give you meat. You’re going to eat meat. And it’s not just for a day that you’ll eat meat, and not two days, or five or ten or twenty, but for a whole month. You’re going to eat meat until it’s coming out your nostrils. You’re going to be so sick of meat that you’ll throw up at the mere mention of it. And here’s why: Because you have rejected God who is right here among you, whining to his face, ‘Oh, why did we ever have to leave Egypt?’”
21-22 Moses said, “I’m standing here surrounded by 600,000 men on foot and you say, ‘I’ll give them meat, meat every day for a month.’ So where’s it coming from? Even if all the flocks and herds were butchered, would that be enough? Even if all the fish in the sea were caught, would that be enough?”
23 God answered Moses, “So, do you think I can’t take care of you? You’ll see soon enough whether what I say happens for you or not.”
24-25 So Moses went out and told the people what God had said. He called together seventy of the leaders and had them stand around the Tent. God came down in a cloud and spoke to Moses and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy leaders. When the Spirit rested on them they prophesied. But they didn’t continue; it was a onetime event.
* * *
26 Meanwhile two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp. They were listed as leaders but they didn’t leave camp to go to the Tent. Still, the Spirit also rested on them and they prophesied in the camp.
27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ right-hand man since his youth, said, “Moses, master! Stop them!”
29 But Moses said, “Are you jealous for me? Would that all God’s people were prophets. Would that God would put his Spirit on all of them.”
* * *
30-34 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went back to the camp. A wind set in motion by God swept quails in from the sea. They piled up to a depth of about three feet in the camp and as far out as a day’s walk in every direction. All that day and night and into the next day the people were out gathering the quail—huge amounts of quail; even the slowest person among them gathered at least sixty bushels. They spread them out all over the camp for drying. But while they were still chewing the quail and had hardly swallowed the first bites, God’s anger blazed out against the people. He hit them with a terrible plague. They ended up calling the place Kibroth Hattaavah (Graves-of-the-Craving). There they buried the people who craved meat.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah they marched on to Hazeroth. They remained at Hazeroth.
Camp Hazeroth
12 1-2 Miriam and Aaron talked against Moses behind his back because of his Cushite wife (he had married a Cushite woman). They said, “Is it only through Moses that God speaks? Doesn’t he also speak through us?”
God overheard their talk.
3-8 Now the man Moses was a quietly humble man, more so than anyone living on Earth. God broke in suddenly on Moses and Aaron and Miriam saying, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” The three went out. God descended in a Pillar of Cloud and stood at the entrance to the Tent. He called Aaron and Miriam to him. When they stepped out, he said,
Listen carefully to what I’m telling you.
If there is a prophet of God among you,
I make myself known to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
But I don’t do it that way with my servant Moses;
he has the run of my entire house;
I speak to him intimately, in person,
in plain talk without riddles:
He ponders the very form of God.
So why did you show no reverence or respect
in speaking against my servant, against Moses?
9 The anger of God blazed out against them. And then he left.
10 When the Cloud moved off from the Tent, oh! Miriam had turned leprous, her skin like snow. Aaron took one look at Miriam—a leper!
11-12 He said to Moses, “Please, my master, please don’t come down so hard on us for this foolish and thoughtless sin. Please don’t make her like a stillborn baby coming out of its mother’s womb with half its body decomposed.”
13 And Moses prayed to God:
Please, God, heal her,
please heal her.
14-16 God answered Moses, “If her father had spat in her face, wouldn’t she be ostracized for seven days? Quarantine her outside the camp for seven days. Then she can be readmitted to the camp.” So Miriam was in quarantine outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t march on until she was readmitted. Only then did the people march from Hazeroth and set up camp in the Wilderness of Paran.
Scouting Out Canaan
13 1-2 God spoke to Moses: “Send men to scout out the country of Canaan that I am giving to the People of Israel. Send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a tried-and-true leader in the tribe.”
3-15 So Moses sent them off from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of God. All of them were leaders in Israel, one from each tribe. These were their names:
from Reuben: Shammua son of Zaccur
from Simeon: Shaphat son of Hori
from Judah: Caleb son of Jephunneh
from Issachar: Igal son of Joseph
from Ephraim: Hoshea son of Nun
from Benjamin: Palti son of Raphu
from Zebulun: Gaddiel son of Sodi
from Manasseh (a Joseph tribe): Gaddi son of Susi
from Dan: Ammiel son of Gemalli
from Asher: Sethur son of Michael
from Naphtali: Nahbi son of Vophsi
from Gad: Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land. Moses gave Hoshea (Salvation) son of Nun a new name—Joshua (God-Saves).
17-20 When Moses sent them off to scout out Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and then into the hill country. Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls? And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there—this is the season for the first ripe grapes.”
21-25 With that they were on their way. They scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob toward Lebo Hamath. Their route went through the Negev Desert to the town of Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of the giant Anak, lived there. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. When they arrived at the Eshcol Valley they cut off a branch with a single cluster of grapes—it took two men to carry it—slung on a pole. They also picked some pomegranates and figs. They named the place Eshcol Valley (Grape-Cluster-Valley) because of the huge cluster of grapes they had cut down there. After forty days of scouting out the land, they returned home.
26-27 They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:
27-29 “We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it.”
31-33 But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.”
* * *
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.
Numbers 11-14
New International Version
Numbers 11-14
New International Version
Fire From the Lord
11 Now the people complained(A) about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord,(B) and when he heard them his anger was aroused.(C) Then fire from the Lord burned among them(D) and consumed(E) some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed(F) to the Lord(G) and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah,[a](H) because fire from the Lord had burned among them.(I)
Quail From the Lord
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food,(J) and again the Israelites started wailing(K) and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.(L) 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!(M)”
7 The manna was like coriander seed(N) and looked like resin.(O) 8 The people went around gathering it,(P) and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew(Q) settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing(R) at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble(S) on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?(T) 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant,(U) to the land you promised on oath(V) to their ancestors?(W) 13 Where can I get meat for all these people?(X) They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.(Y) 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me(Z)—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
16 The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders(AA) who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.(AB) Have them come to the tent of meeting,(AC) that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you(AD) there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them.(AE) They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.(AF)
18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves(AG) in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed,(AH) “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!”(AI) Now the Lord will give you meat,(AJ) and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it(AK)—because you have rejected the Lord,(AL) who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”(AM)
21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men(AN) on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”(AO)
23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?(AP) Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.(AQ)”
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud(AR) and spoke with him,(AS) and he took some of the power of the Spirit(AT) that was on him and put it on the seventy elders.(AU) When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied(AV)—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them,(AW) and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun,(AX) who had been Moses’ aide(AY) since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”(AZ)
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets(BA) and that the Lord would put his Spirit(BB) on them!”(BC) 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail(BD) in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits[b] deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. 32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.[c] Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth(BE) and before it could be consumed, the anger(BF) of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.(BG) 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,[d](BH) because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth(BI) and stayed there.
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
12 Miriam(BJ) and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife,(BK) for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”(BL) And the Lord heard this.(BM)
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man,(BN) more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud;(BO) he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, reveal(BP) myself to them in visions,(BQ)
I speak to them in dreams.(BR)
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;(BS)
he is faithful in all my house.(BT)
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;(BU)
he sees the form of the Lord.(BV)
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”(BW)
9 The anger of the Lord burned against them,(BX) and he left them.(BY)
10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent,(BZ) Miriam’s skin was leprous[e]—it became as white as snow.(CA) Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease,(CB) 11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.(CC) 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”
13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!(CD)”
14 The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face,(CE) would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp(CF) for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp(CG) for seven days,(CH) and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth(CI) and encamped in the Desert of Paran.(CJ)
Exploring Canaan
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore(CK) the land of Canaan,(CL) which I am giving to the Israelites.(CM) From each ancestral tribe(CN) send one of its leaders.”
3 So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.(CO) 4 These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;(CP)
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;(CQ)
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore(CR) the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun(CS) the name Joshua.)(CT)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,(CU) he said, “Go up through the Negev(CV) and on into the hill country.(CW) 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.(CX)” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)(CY)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin(CZ) as far as Rehob,(DA) toward Lebo Hamath.(DB) 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,(DC) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,(DD) the descendants of Anak,(DE) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)(DF) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,[f](DG) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates(DH) and figs.(DI) 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days(DJ) they returned from exploring the land.(DK)
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh(DL) in the Desert of Paran.(DM) There they reported to them(DN) and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.(DO) 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!(DP) Here is its fruit.(DQ) 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.(DR) We even saw descendants of Anak(DS) there.(DT) 29 The Amalekites(DU) live in the Negev; the Hittites,(DV) Jebusites(DW) and Amorites(DX) live in the hill country;(DY) and the Canaanites(DZ) live near the sea and along the Jordan.(EA)”
30 Then Caleb(EB) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”(EC) 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report(ED) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours(EE) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.(EF) 33 We saw the Nephilim(EG) there (the descendants of Anak(EH) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers(EI) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
The People Rebel
14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.(EJ) 2 All the Israelites grumbled(EK) against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!(EL) Or in this wilderness!(EM) 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?(EN) Our wives and children(EO) will be taken as plunder.(EP) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?(EQ)” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.(ER)”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown(ES) in front of the whole Israelite assembly(ET) gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun(EU) and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes(EV) 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.(EW) 8 If the Lord is pleased with us,(EX) he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey,(EY) and will give it to us.(EZ) 9 Only do not rebel(FA) against the Lord. And do not be afraid(FB) of the people of the land,(FC) because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with(FD) us.(FE) Do not be afraid of them.”(FF)
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning(FG) them. Then the glory of the Lord(FH) appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt?(FI) How long will they refuse to believe in me,(FJ) in spite of all the signs(FK) I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague(FL) and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation(FM) greater and stronger than they.”(FN)
13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.(FO) 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard(FP) that you, Lord, are with these people(FQ) and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face,(FR) that your cloud stays over them,(FS) and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.(FT) 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath,(FU) so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’(FV)
17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.(FW) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’(FX) 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive(FY) the sin of these people,(FZ) just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”(GA)
20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them,(GB) as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live(GC) and as surely as the glory of the Lord(GD) fills the whole earth,(GE) 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs(GF) I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times(GG)— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath(GH) to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt(GI) will ever see it.(GJ) 24 But because my servant Caleb(GK) has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly,(GL) I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.(GM) 25 Since the Amalekites(GN) and the Canaanites(GO) are living in the valleys, turn(GP) back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[g](GQ)”
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.(GR) 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,(GS) declares the Lord, I will do to you(GT) the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall(GU)—every one of you twenty years old or more(GV) who was counted in the census(GW) and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land(GX) I swore with uplifted hand(GY) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh(GZ) and Joshua son of Nun.(HA) 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.(HB) 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall(HC) in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years,(HD) suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years(HE)—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land(HF)—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(HG) to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.(HH)”
36 So the men Moses had sent(HI) to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble(HJ) against him by spreading a bad report(HK) about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report(HL) about the land were struck down and died of a plague(HM) before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land,(HN) only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.(HO)
39 When Moses reported this(HP) to all the Israelites, they mourned(HQ) bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country,(HR) saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!(HS)”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed!(HT) 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,(HU) 43 for the Amalekites(HV) and the Canaanites(HW) will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you(HX) and you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up(HY) toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp.(HZ) 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites(IA) who lived in that hill country(IB) came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.(IC)
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:3 Taberah means burning.
- Numbers 11:31 That is, about 3 feet or about 90 centimeters
- Numbers 11:32 That is, possibly about 1 3/4 tons or about 1.6 metric tons
- Numbers 11:34 Kibroth Hattaavah means graves of craving.
- Numbers 12:10 The Hebrew for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
- Numbers 13:23 Eshkol means cluster; also in verse 24.
- Numbers 14:25 Or the Sea of Reeds
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