Numbers 14
Modern English Version
Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan
14 And the whole assembly lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 All the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “O that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! 3 And why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should become prey? Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 And they said one to another, “Let us select a leader, and let us return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel. 6 Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, from the ones who explored the land, tore their clothes. 7 And they spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to explore it is a very, very good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land because they are bread for us. Their defense is gone from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
10 But all the assembly said, “Stone them with stones.” And the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting before all the children of Israel. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people disgrace Me? And how long will they not believe Me, in spite of all the signs which I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make from you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
Moses Intercedes for the People
13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your power You brought this people up from among them, 14 and they will say to the inhabitants of this land that they heard that You, Lord, are among this people, that You, Lord, are seen face to face, and Your cloud stands over them, and in the pillar of cloud You go before them by day and by a pillar of fire at night. 15 Now if You kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of You will speak, saying, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, so He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
17 “So now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your grace, just as You have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.”
20 The Lord said, “I have forgiven according to your word. 21 But truly as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. 22 Because all those men seeing My glory and My signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not listened to My voice, 23 surely they will not see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor will any of them who disgraced Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit with him and followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land where he went, and his seed will possess it. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites lived in the valley. Tomorrow you will turn, and you will set out for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”
Death of Rebels Predicted
26 The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: 27 How long will this evil assembly be murmuring against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel which they murmur against Me. 28 Say to them, “As I live,” says the Lord, “just as you have spoken in My ears, so I will do to you. 29 In this wilderness your corpses will fall, and all who were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me, 30 you will not go into the land which I swore by My hand to cause you to dwell in it, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your children, whom you said would be a prey, I will bring them in and they will know the land, which you rejected. 32 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and they will suffer for your fornications, until your corpses are in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day you will bear your iniquity, forty years, and you will know My displeasure.” 35 I the Lord have spoken. I will surely do this to all this evil assembly gathered against Me. In this wilderness they will be finished, and there they will die.
36 The men whom Moses sent to explore the land, who returned and made all the assembly murmur against him by bringing up an evil report about the land, 37 the men who brought an evil report about the land, died by the pestilence before the Lord. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, from the men that went to explore the land, lived.
Defeat in Battle
39 Moses spoke these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. 40 They rose up early in the morning, and they went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.”
41 Moses said, “Why do you now transgress the commandment of the Lord? This will not prosper. 42 Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you; do not let yourselves be defeated by your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you will fall by the sword because you are turned from the Lord, and the Lord will not be with you.”
44 But they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain. But the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses did not depart from the midst of the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt on that mountain went down and defeated them, pursuing them as far as Hormah.
Numbers 14
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
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 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 face down 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 Judgement 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 abounding in faithful love,(Q) forgiving iniquity and rebellion.(R) But he will not leave the guilty unpunished,(S) bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation.(T) 19 Please pardon the iniquity 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 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 ten times and did not obey me, 23 will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors.(W) None of those who have despised me(X) will see it. 24 But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, 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 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 twenty 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 forty 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 iniquities for forty years based on the number of the forty days that you scouted the land, a year for each day.[d](AE) You will know my displeasure.[e] 35 I, the Lord, 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)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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