² All the Israelites grumbled^(A) against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!^(B) Or in this wilderness!^(C)

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown^(A) in front of the whole Israelite assembly^(B) gathered there.

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt?^(A) How long will they refuse to believe in me,^(B) in spite of all the signs^(C) I have performed among them?

¹³ Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.^{(A) 14} And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard^(B) that you, Lord, are with these people^(C) and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face,^(D) that your cloud stays over them,^(E) and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.^{(F) 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,^(G) so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’^(H)

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.^(I) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’^{(J) 19} In accordance with your great love, forgive^(K) the sin of these people,^(L) just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”^(M)

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

³⁶ So the men Moses had sent^(A) to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble^(B) against him by spreading a bad report^(C) about it— ³⁷ these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report^(D) about the land were struck down and died of a plague^(E) before the Lord. ³⁸ Of the men who went to explore the land,^(F) only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.^(G)

³⁹ When Moses reported this^(H) to all the Israelites, they mourned^(I) bitterly. ⁴⁰ Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country,^(J) saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!^(K)”

⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed!^(L)