Numbers 14:10-19

New International Reader's Version

¹⁰ But all the people talked about killing Joshua and Caleb by throwing stones at them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting. All the Israelites saw it. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people not respect me? How long will they refuse to believe in me? They refuse even though I have done many signs among them. ¹² So I will strike them down with a plague. I will destroy them. But I will make you into a greater and stronger nation than they are.”

¹³ Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it. You used your power to bring these people up from among them. ¹⁴ And the Egyptians will tell the people who live in Canaan about it. Lord, they have already heard a lot about you. They’ve heard that you are with these people. They’ve heard that you have been seen face to face. They’ve been told that your cloud stays over them. They’ve heard that you go in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day. They’ve been told that you go in front of them in a pillar of fire at night. ¹⁵ Suppose you put all these people to death and leave none alive. Then the nations who have heard these things about you will talk. They’ll say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord promised to give these people the land of Canaan. But he wasn’t able to bring them into it. So he killed them in the desert.’

¹⁷ “Now, Lord, show your strength. You have said, ¹⁸ ‘I am the Lord. I am slow to get angry. I am full of love. I forgive those who sin. I forgive those who refuse to obey. But I do not let guilty people go without punishing them. I cause the sin of the parents to affect their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.’ ¹⁹ Lord, your love is great. So forgive the sin of these people. Forgive them just as you have done from the time they left Egypt until now.”