Numbers 14
Legacy Standard Bible
The People Rebel
14 Then all the congregation [a]lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept [b]that night. 2 And all the sons of Israel (A)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “(B)Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 And why is Yahweh bringing us into this land, (C)to fall by the sword? (D)Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “(E)Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”
5 (F)Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “(G)The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 (H)If Yahweh is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—(I)a land which flows with milk and honey. 9 But as for you, only (J)do not rebel against Yahweh; and do not (K)fear the people of the land, for they are our [c]bread. Their [d]protection has been removed from them, and Yahweh is with us; do not fear them.” 10 (L)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then (M)the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.
Moses Prays for the People
11 (N)Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will (O)they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have done in their midst? 12 I will strike them with [e](P)pestilence and dispossess them, and I (Q)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”
13 (R)But Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your power You brought up this people from their midst, 14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Yahweh, are in the midst of this people, for (S)You, O Yahweh, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over 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 put this people to death as one man, (T)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will [f]say, 16 ‘Because Yahweh (U)was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17 So now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have [g]declared, 18 ‘(V)Yahweh is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but (W)He will by no means clear the guilty, (X)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children [h]to the third and the fourth generations.’ 19 (Y)Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
Evil Complainers
20 So Yahweh said, “(Z)I have pardoned them according to your word; 21 but indeed, (AA)as I live, [i](AB)all the earth will be filled with the glory of Yahweh. 22 Surely (AC)all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet (AD)have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23 (AE)shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb, (AF)because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, [j](AG)I will bring into the land [k]which he entered, and his seed shall take possession of it. 25 (AH)Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the [l]Red Sea.”
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are (AI)grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are [m]making against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘(AJ)As I live,’ declares Yahweh, ‘just as (AK)you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; 29 (AL)your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all (AM)your [n]numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30 Surely you shall not come into the land in which I [o]swore to make you dwell, (AN)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 (AO)Your little ones, however, who you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, so that they will know the land which you have rejected. 32 (AP)But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall be shepherds for (AQ)forty years in the wilderness, and they will [p]suffer for your [q]unfaithfulness, until your corpses come to an end in the wilderness. 34 According to the (AR)number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your [r]guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. 35 (AS)I, Yahweh, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall come to an end, and there they will die.’”
36 (AT)As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, 37 even (AU)those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a (AV)plague before Yahweh. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.
Israel Struck Down
39 Then Moses spoke (AW)these words to all the sons of Israel, and (AX)the people mourned greatly. 40 In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the [s]ridge of the hill country, saying, “(AY)Here we are; we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised because we have indeed sinned.” 41 But Moses said, “(AZ)Why then do you trespass against the [t]command of Yahweh, when it will not succeed? 42 (BA)Do not go up, for Yahweh is not among you, so that you are not [u]defeated before your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following Yahweh. And Yahweh will not be with you.” 44 But they went up heedlessly to the [v]ridge of the hill country; neither (BB)the ark of the covenant of Yahweh nor Moses moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as (BC)Hormah.
Footnotes
- Numbers 14:1 Lit lifted and gave their voice
- Numbers 14:1 Lit in that
- Numbers 14:9 Or food
- Numbers 14:9 Lit shadow
- Numbers 14:12 Lit the pestilence
- Numbers 14:15 Lit speak, saying
- Numbers 14:17 Lit spoken, saying
- Numbers 14:18 Lit on
- Numbers 14:21 Lit and all
- Numbers 14:24 Lit him I
- Numbers 14:24 Lit where
- Numbers 14:25 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Numbers 14:27 Lit complaining
- Numbers 14:29 Lit mustered
- Numbers 14:30 Lit lifted up My hand
- Numbers 14:33 Lit bear
- Numbers 14:33 Lit fornications
- Numbers 14:34 Or iniquities
- Numbers 14:40 Or top of the mountain
- Numbers 14:41 Lit mouth
- Numbers 14:42 Lit smitten
- Numbers 14:44 Or top of the mountain
Numbers 14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Refusal to Enter Canaan
14 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron,(A) and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder.(B) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”(C) 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces to the ground in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land.(D) 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey,(E) and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them.(F) Their protection(G) has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 While the whole community threatened to stone them,(H) the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.
God’s Judgment of Israel’s Rebellion
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people despise Me? How long will they not trust in Me despite all the signs I have performed among them?(I) 12 I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”(J)
13 But Moses replied to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from them. 14 They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land.(K) They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people, how You, Lord, are seen face to face, how Your cloud stands over them, and how You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.(L) 15 If You kill this people with a single blow,[a](M) the nations that have heard of Your fame(N) will declare, 16 ‘Since the Lord wasn’t able to bring this people into the land He swore to give them,(O) He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’(P)
17 “So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as You have spoken: 18 The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love,(Q) forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion.(R) But He will not leave the guilty unpunished,(S) bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation.(T) 19 Please pardon the wrongdoing of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love,(U) just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”
20 The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. 21 Yet as surely as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory,(V) 22 none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me, 23 will ever see the land I swore to give their fathers.(W) None of those who have despised Me(X) will see it. 24 But since My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me completely, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it.(Y) 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands,[b] turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”(Z)
26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about Me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against Me.(AA) 28 Tell them: As surely as I live,” this is the Lord’s declaration, “I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. 29 Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you 20 years old or more(AB)—because you have complained about Me. 30 I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised[c] to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder(AC) into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it.(AD) 32 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness. 34 You will bear the consequences of your sins 40 years based on the number of the 40 days that you scouted the land, a year for each day.[d](AE) You will know My displeasure.[e] 35 I, Yahweh, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against Me.(AF) They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”(AG)
36 So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land— 37 those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the Lord. 38 Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land.
Israel Routed
39 When Moses reported these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome with grief. 40 They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let’s go to the place the Lord promised, for we were wrong.”(AH)
41 But Moses responded, “Why are you going against the Lord’s command? It won’t succeed. 42 Don’t go, because the Lord is not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies. 43 The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. The Lord won’t be with you, since you have turned from following Him.”
44 But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the Lord’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.(AI)
Footnotes
- Numbers 14:15 Lit people as one man
- Numbers 14:25 Lit valley
- Numbers 14:30 Lit I raised My hand
- Numbers 14:34 Lit a day for the year, a day for the year
- Numbers 14:34 Or My opposition
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