Numbers 14
The Voice
14 At this, everybody with one voice cried out, and the people groaned and wept all night.
Israelites (blaming Moses and Aaron): 2 If only we had just died in Egypt or somewhere along the way in this wilderness, 3 rather than the Eternal One leading us out here to have us slaughtered and our women and the youngsters dragged off as plunder, too, as objects for their pleasure. Wouldn’t it be good just to go back to Egypt? 4 Let’s figure out among ourselves who should head the group and then make our way back to Egypt.
5 While all the gathered Israelites watched, Moses and Aaron collapsed to the ground before the people. 6 Joshua (Nun’s son, Moses’ young assistant—the one who would succeed him) and Caleb (who was Jephunneh’s son) lamented the Israelites’ response. These two, who were among those who journeyed into the promised land to explore it and bring back a report, tore their clothes 7 and addressed the whole community of Israelites.
Joshua and Caleb: The land that we saw was extraordinary! It’s some of the best land ever, 8 flowing with milk and honey. So stop this moaning and wailing! If we all do what is right in the eyes of God, the Eternal will bring us into the land and make it ours. 9 Do not rebel like this against the Eternal. Don’t be afraid of the land’s inhabitants. It is we who will devour them! They are now defenseless, and nothing can protect them from the Eternal, who is with us. You don’t need to be afraid of them!
10 But the rest of the Israelites were not convinced. Enraged, the crowd moved to stone Joshua and Caleb. Suddenly, the glory of the Eternal swept into the congregation tent in front of them all.
What a sad time it is for the Israelites! Joshua and Caleb have pleaded for courage among the people, and Moses and Aaron must now plead for patience on the part of the Lord. The Israelites stand on the edge of God’s promise, and they can’t find the courage to believe and to move forward by faith into the promise. Because of their reluctance to believe, they must wander through this wilderness with only God to supply their basic needs until He has purged the nation of those who lack faith. The next 38 years will cleanse the nation and develop the character each person needs to claim the promises of God. This same two-step process is repeated throughout the Bible: refine and cleanse while building the necessary faith. Unfortunately, the fire necessary for refinement is normally painful.
Eternal One (to Moses): 11 How many times will this ungrateful people turn their backs to Me? How long will they persist in their faithlessness, refusing to recognize all the wondrous signs I performed in their midst? 12 I will crush them with dreadful sickness and disinherit them from Me and the land. However, I will accept you and make you into a fearsome nation, far greater and more impressive than they might be or could ever dream of being.
Moses: 13 If You kill them, the Egyptians (whom You forced Your people away from) will get wind of it, 14 and they’ll tell the people of this new world, because all have already heard that You, O Eternal One, are present among Your people here, that You’ve been seen face-to-face, and that You personally guide them by a cloud-column during the day and a fire-column at night. 15 If You wipe out these, Your chosen people, in one fell swoop, then Your reputation among the other nations will be shot. All of those other peoples who have heard about You will say, 16 “The Eternal One couldn’t finish the job. He couldn’t bring the people into the land He’d promised to them, so He slaughtered them in the desert.” 17 Instead, demonstrate that great power of Yours when You declared, 18 “I am slow to get angry and overflow with consistently boundless love. I forgive wrongdoing and waywardness, but I don’t overlook the necessity for justice, so I punish the guilty ones’ third and fourth coming generations.” 19 So, in light of the greatness of Your unwavering love, forgive this people’s wrongdoing just as You’ve done before—from Egypt all the way here.
Eternal One: 20 I have pardoned them as you’ve asked Me to do. 21 But as I live, the earth will be filled with My brilliant glory; 22-23 this particular generation will never get to enjoy the land I promised to their ancestors so long ago. Although they witnessed My glory and signs firsthand, and the amazing feats I accomplished on their behalf in Egypt and on this desert sojourn, they tested Me over and over again, even 10 times, and even directly disobeyed. None of the people who have turned their backs on Me will ever see the land. 24 For Caleb, though, it’s a different matter. He’s distinct from the others by having a different spirit and has followed My lead wholeheartedly. I will make sure that he is able to enter the land and to live in it—he and his descendants after him.
25 Now, to avoid the Amalekites and Canaanites who presently inhabit the valleys, turn around tomorrow, and make for the desert by way of the Red Sea.[a]
26 The Eternal One reiterated to Moses and Aaron,
Eternal One: 27 How many times will these bad people grumble against Me and My choices? It seems that all I hear is Israelites complaining, complaining, complaining! 28 So tell them I say, “As I live, I will make sure that what you’re complaining about really does happen— 29 you’ll die out here in the desert, every single one of you old enough to have been organized in the counting (20 years or older) who complained about Me. 30 Not a single one of that group will have the privilege of entering the land I made an oath to give to you. Only Caleb (Jephunneh’s son) and Joshua (Nun’s son) will enter. 31 Your children, those whom you feared would be taken by the land’s present inhabitants, will eventually enter the land you’ve rejected. 32 But the rest of you? You’ll die out here in the desert. 33 Until then, your children will have to wait it out, keeping the herds and flocks out here in the wilderness. On account of your faithlessness, they’ll have to wait the 40 years it’ll take for you all to die. 34 The same number of scouting days—40—is the number of years you’ll carry the guilt of your wrongs for being so hard-headed and know Me as only an enemy.” 35 Well, there it is. I, the Eternal One, have spoken, and so I will do it. This especially wicked group that banded together against Me will suffer for it, each and every one, and will come to an end and die out here in this wilderness.
36-37 Remember that the men who had been hand-selected by Moses to scout out the promised land delivered a less-than-positive report. Consequently, in the assenting presence of the Eternal, they were all killed by a plague. 38 All, that is, except for Joshua (son of Nun) and Caleb (son of Jephunneh).
39 When Moses delivered this message from the Lord to the Israelites, they were devastated and greatly mourned. 40 But in the morning, they got up with the sun and climbed high into the hills.
Israelites: Well, here we are. Despite our wrongdoings, let’s go up into the land the Eternal promised us on our own.
Moses: 41 Why do you keep doing what you’re not supposed to do? You will not succeed in your efforts. 42-43 He will not accompany you, so you’re vulnerable on all sides. Because you’ve rejected the Eternal, you won’t have Him in your midst and on your side. When you run into the Amalekites and Canaanites, they will slay you on the spot.
44 Despite Moses’ protestations, the people tried. The chest of the Eternal’s covenant and Moses himself remained back in the camp. 45 Sure enough, the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived there descended upon them, attacked them, and chased them clear back to Hormah, which means the place of complete destruction.
Footnotes
- 14:25 Literally, Sea of Reeds
Numeri 14
Nouă Traducere În Limba Română
Rebeliunea poporului şi judecata Domnului
14 Atunci toată adunarea a început să ţipe şi în noaptea aceea poporul a plâns. 2 Toţi israeliţii au cârtit împotriva lui Moise şi a lui Aaron; întreaga adunare le-a zis:
– Dacă am fi murit în ţara Egiptului sau dacă am fi murit în pustia aceasta! 3 De ce ne aduce Domnul în ţara aceasta? Ca să cădem ucişi de sabie? Soţiile noastre şi copiii noştri vor ajunge pradă; n-ar fi mai bine să ne întoarcem în Egipt?
4 Şi au zis unul către altul:
– Să ne alegem o căpetenie şi să ne întoarcem în Egipt!
5 Atunci Moise şi Aaron au căzut cu feţele la pământ înaintea întregii adunări a israeliţilor. 6 Iosua, fiul lui Nun, şi Caleb, fiul lui Iefune, care erau dintre cei ce iscodiseră ţara, şi-au sfâşiat hainele 7 şi au zis întregii adunări a israeliţilor:
– Ţara pe care am străbătut-o noi ca să o iscodim este o ţară deosebit de bună. 8 Dacă Domnul Îşi găseşte plăcerea în noi, ne va duce în această ţară şi ne-o va da nouă; este o ţară în care curge lapte şi miere. 9 Dar nu vă răzvrătiţi împotriva Domnului şi nu vă temeţi de poporul din ţară, căci îi vom înghiţi de vii. Ei nu mai au nici o protecţie, iar Domnul este cu noi; nu vă temeţi de ei.
10 Dar întreaga adunare a zis să-i omoare cu pietre. Atunci slava Domnului s-a arătat la Cortul Întâlnirii, înaintea israeliţilor. 11 Domnul i-a zis lui Moise:
– Până când Mă va dispreţui poporul acesta? Până când vor refuza să creadă în Mine, în ciuda tuturor semnelor pe care le-am făcut între ei? 12 Îi voi lovi cu molimă şi-i voi dezmoşteni, iar pe tine te voi face un neam mai mare şi mai puternic decât ei.
13 Dar Moise i-a zis Domnului:
– Egiptenii vor auzi lucrul acesta, căci prin puterea Ta ai scos acest popor din mijlocul lor, 14 şi vor spune locuitorilor acestei ţări. Ei au auzit că Tu, Doamne, eşti în mijlocul acestui popor, că Tu, Doamne, eşti văzut de ei faţă în faţă, că norul Tău stă peste ei şi că mergi înaintea lor în timpul zilei într-un stâlp de nor, iar noaptea într-un stâlp de foc. 15 Dacă omori acest popor ca pe un singur om, atunci neamurile care au auzit despre Tine vor zice: 16 „Domnul n-a putut duce acest popor în ţara pe care a jurat că le-o va da şi i-a omorât în pustie.“ 17 De aceea, Te rog, lasă acum ca puterea Domnului să se arate în măreţia ei, după cum ai promis atunci când ai spus: 18 „Domnul este încet la mânie şi plin de îndurare[a], iertând nedreptatea şi păcatul, dar nu lasă nepedepsit pe cel vinovat, ci pedepseşte nelegiuirea părinţilor în copii şi în copiii copiilor lor până la a treia şi a patra generaţie.[b]“ 19 Te rog, iartă nedreptatea acestui popor, potrivit măreţiei îndurării Tale, aşa cum ai iertat acest popor din Egipt până aici.
20 Domnul a zis:
– I-am iertat aşa cum ai cerut; 21 dar, aşa cum este de adevărat faptul că Eu sunt viu şi că slava Domnului va umple tot pământul, 22 tot aşa nici unul din oamenii care au văzut slava Mea şi semnele pe care le-am făcut în Egipt şi în pustie şi care totuşi M-au ispitit de zece ori[c] până acum şi n-au ascultat glasul Meu, 23 nu vor vedea ţara pe care am jurat că le-o voi da părinţilor lor; nici unul dintre cei care m-au dispreţuit nu o vor vedea. 24 Dar pentru că robul Meu Caleb a fost călăuzit de un alt duh şi M-a urmat pe deplin, îl voi duce în ţara în care a fost, iar urmaşii lui o vor moşteni. 25 Amalekiţii şi canaaniţii locuiesc în vale. De aceea, mâine, întoarceţi-vă şi porniţi spre pustie, pe drumul către Marea Roşie[d].
26 Domnul le-a zis lui Moise şi lui Aaron: 27 „Până când va cârti această adunare rea împotriva Mea? Am auzit cârtirile pe care israeliţii le-au rostit împotriva Mea. 28 De aceea spuneţi-le: «Pe viaţa Mea, zice Domnul, că vă voi face precum aţi vorbit şi voi în auzul Meu: 29 trupurile voastre moarte vor cădea în pustia aceasta; dintre toţi cei de la vârsta de douăzeci de ani în sus care aţi fost număraţi şi înscrişi şi care aţi cârtit împotriva Mea, 30 nici unul nu veţi intra în ţara în care am jurat că vă voi aşeza, în afară de Caleb, fiul lui Iefune, şi Iosua, fiul lui Nun. 31 Pe copilaşii voştri însă, despre care aţi spus că vor fi de jaf, îi voi duce în ţară şi astfel ei vor cunoaşte ţara pe care voi aţi dispreţuit-o. 32 Cât despre voi, trupurile voastre vor cădea în pustia aceasta. 33 Copiii voştri vor fi păstori în pustie timp de patruzeci de ani şi vor purta vina necredincioşiei voastre până când trupurile voastre îşi vor găsi sfârşitul în pustie. 34 După cum timp de patruzeci de zile aţi iscodit ţara, tot aşa, timp de patruzeci de ani – câte un an pentru fiecare zi – vă veţi purta vina şi astfel veţi cunoaşte respingerea Mea.» 35 Eu, Domnul, am vorbit; cu siguranţă aşa îi voi face acestei adunări rele care s-a adunat împotriva Mea. În pustia aceasta îşi va găsi sfârşitul, aici va muri.“
36 Bărbaţii pe care Moise îi trimisese să iscodească ţara şi care, atunci când s-au întors, au făcut toată adunarea să cârtească împotriva lui, aducând un raport nefavorabil despre ţară, 37 deci oamenii aceia care aduseseră un raport rău despre ţară, au murit loviţi de o urgie înaintea Domnului. 38 Numai Iosua, fiul lui Nun, şi Caleb, fiul lui Iefune, au rămas în viaţă dintre bărbaţii care se duseseră să iscodească ţara.
39 Când Moise le-a spus aceste cuvinte tuturor israeliţilor, poporul a fost cuprins de o mare jale. 40 Ei s-au trezit dis-de-dimineaţă şi s-au urcat pe vârful muntelui, zicând:
– Iată-ne! Ne vom duce în locul pe care l-a promis Domnul, căci ne-am dat seama că am păcătuit.
41 Dar Moise le-a zis:
– De ce continuaţi să încălcaţi porunca Domnului? Nu veţi reuşi. 42 Să nu vă urcaţi pentru că Domnul nu este cu voi şi astfel veţi fi învinşi de către duşmanii voştri. 43 Amalekiţii şi canaaniţii sunt înaintea voastră şi veţi cădea loviţi de sabie; fiindcă v-aţi abătut de la Domnul, El nu va fi cu voi.
44 Ei însă au îndrăznit să se urce pe înălţimile muntelui, chiar dacă Moise şi Chivotul Legământului cu Domnul nu au părăsit tabăra. 45 Atunci amalekiţii şi canaaniţii care locuiau în acea regiune muntoasă au venit, i-au învins şi i-au zdrobit până la Horma.
Footnotes
- Numeri 14:18 Ebr.: hesed, termen care apare frecvent (de peste 250 ori) în VT, având o varietate de sensuri (îndurare, bunătate, bunăvoinţă, milă, credincioşie, dragoste statornică). Se referă atât la relaţiile dintre oameni, cât şi, într-un mod cu totul special, la relaţia dintre YHWH şi Israel. Cel mai frecvent, se referă la loialitatea părţilor implicate în legământ (în special loialitatea lui YHWH, care este certă). Termenul, aşa cum o dovedeşte varietatea de sensuri, cuprinde toate implicaţiile loialităţii lui YHWH faţă de promisiunile legământului; peste tot în carte
- Numeri 14:18 Cel care păcătuia atrăgea pedeapsa atât asupra sa, cât şi asupra casei sale, alcătuită de obicei din trei sau patru generaţii (vezi Num. 16:31-34; Ios. 7:24)
- Numeri 14:22 Poate fi înţeles fie literal, fie cu sensul: de zeci de ori (de multe ori)
- Numeri 14:25 Ebr.: Yam Suf (lit.: Marea Trestiilor sau Marea Algelor - vezi Iona 2:5, unde acelaşi termen ebraic, suf, are sensul de alge). Denumirea de Marea Roşie a fost introdusă în traducerile moderne prin LXX şi VUL; în VT însă, sintagma ebraică denumea actualul Golf Aqaba, la sud de Elat. Chiar şi astăzi localnicii numesc Golful Aqaba Yam Suf; vezi 1 Regi 9:26
Numbers 14
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
The People Rebel
14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ 4 So they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.’
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. 6 And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, ‘The land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only, do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.’ 10 But the whole congregation threatened to stone them.
Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.’
Moses Intercedes for the People
13 But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might you brought up this people from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people; for you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go in front of them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, 16 “It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.” 17 And now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying,
18 “The Lord is slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression,
but by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
to the third and the fourth generation.”
19 Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.’
20 Then the Lord said, ‘I do forgive, just as you have asked; 21 nevertheless—as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— 22 none of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tested me these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors; none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.’[a]
An Attempted Invasion is Repulsed
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: 27 How long shall this wicked congregation complain against me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites, which they complain against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live’, says the Lord, ‘I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this very wilderness; and of all your number, included in the census, from twenty years old and upwards, who have complained against me, 30 not one of you shall come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would become booty, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have despised. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 I the Lord have spoken; surely I will do thus to all this wicked congregation gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.
36 And 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 about the land— 37 the men who brought an unfavourable report about the land died by a plague before the Lord. 38 But Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh alone remained alive, of those men who went to spy out the land.
39 When Moses told these words to all the Israelites, the people mourned greatly. 40 They rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, ‘Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.’ 41 But Moses said, ‘Why do you continue to transgress the command of the Lord? That will not succeed. 42 Do not go up, for the Lord is not with you; do not let yourselves be struck down before your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will confront you there, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.’ 44 But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, even though the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, had not left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them, pursuing them as far as Hormah.
Footnotes
- Numbers 14:25 Or Sea of Reeds
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Nouă Traducere În Limba Română (Holy Bible, New Romanian Translation) Copyright © 2006 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.