Numbers 14
New American Standard Bible
The People Rebel
14 Then all the congregation [a]raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept [b]that night. 2 And all the sons of Israel (A)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “(B)If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness! 3 So why is the Lord 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’s 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 the Lord 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 Only (J)do not rebel against the Lord; and do not (K)fear the people of the land, for they will be our [c]prey. Their [d]protection is gone from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 (L)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then (M)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.
Moses Pleads for the People
11 (N)And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people be disrespectful to Me? And how long will (O)they not [e]believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? 12 I will strike them with [f](P)plague and dispossess them, and I (Q)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”
13 (R)But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people up from their midst, 14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are in the midst of this people, because (S)You, Lord, 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 [g]all at once, (T)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will [h]say, 16 ‘Since the Lord (U)could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17 So now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying, 18 ‘(V)The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but (W)He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, (X)inflicting the [i]punishment of the fathers on the children [j]to the third and the fourth generations.’ 19 Please (Y)forgive the guilt of this people in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
The Lord Pardons and Rebukes
20 So the Lord said, “(Z)I have forgiven them in accordance with your word; 21 however, (AA)as I live, [k](AB)all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. 22 Certainly (AC)all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed 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 were disrespectful to Me see it. 24 But as for My servant Caleb, (AF)because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, (AG)I will bring him into the land which he [l]entered, and his [m]descendants shall take possession of it. 25 (AH)Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the [n]Red Sea.”
26 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron again, saying, 27 “How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who are (AI)grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel which they are [o]voicing against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘(AJ)As I live,’ declares the Lord, ‘just as (AK)you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you; 29 (AL)your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all (AM)your [p]numbered men according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30 By no means will you come into the land where I [q]swore to settle you, (AN)except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 (AO)Your children, however, whom you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. 32 (AP)But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 Also, your sons will be shepherds in the wilderness for (AQ)forty years, and they will [r]suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your bodies perish in the wilderness. 34 In accordance with the (AR)number of days that you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall suffer the punishment for your [s]guilt a year, that is, forty years, and you will know My opposition. 35 (AS)I, the Lord, have spoken, I certainly will do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. They shall be worn out in this wilderness, and there they shall die.’”
36 (AT)As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and led all the congregation to grumble against him by bringing a bad report about the land, 37 (AU)those men who brought the bad report of the land also died by a (AV)plague in the presence of the Lord. 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 Repulsed
39 Now when Moses spoke (AW)these words to all the sons of Israel, (AX)the people mourned greatly. 40 In the morning, however, they got up early and went up to the [t]ridge of the hill country, saying, “(AY)Here we are; and we will go up to the place which the Lord has [u]promised, for [v]we have sinned.” 41 But Moses said, “(AZ)Why then are you (BA)violating the [w]command of the Lord, when doing so will not succeed? 42 (BB)Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, [x]to prevent you from being defeated [y]by your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there [z]to confront you, and you will fall by the sword, since you have turned back from following the Lord. And the Lord will not be with you.” 44 But they foolishly dared to go up to the [aa]ridge of the hill country; neither (BC)the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and scattered them as far as (BD)Hormah.
Footnotes
- Numbers 14:1 Lit raised and gave their voice
- Numbers 14:1 Lit in that
- Numbers 14:9 Lit food
- Numbers 14:9 Lit shadow
- Numbers 14:11 Or trust in
- Numbers 14:12 Lit the plague
- Numbers 14:15 Lit as one man
- Numbers 14:15 Lit say, saying
- Numbers 14:18 I.e., punishment for the wrongdoing
- Numbers 14:18 Lit on
- Numbers 14:21 Lit and all
- Numbers 14:24 Lit entered there
- Numbers 14:24 Lit seed
- Numbers 14:25 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Numbers 14:27 Lit complaining
- Numbers 14:29 Lit mustered
- Numbers 14:30 Lit raised My hand
- Numbers 14:33 Lit bear
- Numbers 14:34 Or wrongdoings
- Numbers 14:40 Or top of the mountain
- Numbers 14:40 Lit said
- Numbers 14:40 I.e., by lacking faith to go
- Numbers 14:41 Lit mouth
- Numbers 14:42 Lit so that you are not
- Numbers 14:42 Lit before
- Numbers 14:43 Lit before you
- Numbers 14:44 Or top of the mountain
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
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