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The People Complain

14 Then all the community lifted up their voices,[a] and the people wept during that night. And all the Israelites[b] grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and all the community said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt or in this desert! Why did Yahweh bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little children will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” They said to each other,[c] “Let us appoint a leader, and we will return to Egypt.”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 14:1 Hebrew “they lifted up and gave their voice”
  2. Numbers 14:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Numbers 14:4 Literally “A man said to his brother”

Israel’s Refusal to Enter Canaan

14 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 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! 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) So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

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