Numbers 14
14
1And the whole assembly lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole assembly said to them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or in this wilderness would that we had died! 3And why is Jehovah bringing us to this land that we may fall by the sword, that our wives and our little ones may become a prey? Is it not better for us to return to Egypt? 4And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt.
5Then Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before the whole congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel. 6And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of them that searched out the land, rent their garments. 7And they spoke to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it out, is a very, very good land. 8If Jehovah delight in us, he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land that flows with milk and honey; 9only rebel not against Jehovah; and fear not the people of the land; for they shall be our food. Their defence is departed from them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not. 10And the whole assembly said that they should be stoned with stones. And the glory of Jehovah appeared in the tent of meeting to all the children of Israel.
11And Jehovah said to Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe me, for all the signs which I have done among them? 12I will smite them with the pestilence, and destroy them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they. 13And Moses said to Jehovah, Then the Egyptians will hear it; for in thy might thou broughtest up this people from the midst of them; 14and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that thou, Jehovah, art in the midst of this people, that thou, Jehovah, lettest thyself be seen eye to eye, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; 15if thou now slayest this people as one man, then the nations that have heard thy fame will speak, saying, 16Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land that he had sworn unto them, he has therefore slain them in the wilderness. 17And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 18Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in goodness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth generation. 19Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy loving-kindness, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
20And Jehovah said, I have pardoned according to thy word. 21But as surely as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah! 22for all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice, 23shall in no wise see the land which I did swear unto their fathers: none of them that despised me shall see it. 24But my servant Caleb, because he hath another spirit in him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he came; and his seed shall possess it. 25(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley.) To-morrow turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness, on the way to the Red sea. 26And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27How long shall I bear with this evil assembly, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. 28Say unto them, As surely as I live, saith Jehovah, if I do not do unto you as ye have spoken in mine ears! 29In this wilderness shall your carcases fall; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number from twenty years old and upwards, who have murmured against me, 30shall in no wise come into the land, concerning which I have lifted up my hand to make you dwell in it; save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31But your little ones, of whom ye said they should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land that ye have despised. 32And as to you, your carcases shall fall in this wilderness. 33And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. 34After the number of the days in which ye have searched out the land, forty days, each day for a year shall ye bear your iniquities forty years, and ye shall know mine estrangement from you. 35I Jehovah have spoken; I will surely do it unto all this evil assembly which have gathered together against me! in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
36And the men whom Moses had sent to search out the land, who returned, and made the whole assembly to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report upon the land, 37even those men who had brought up an evil report upon the land, died by a plague before Jehovah. 38But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, lived still of the men that had gone to search out the land. 39And Moses told all these sayings to all the children of Israel; then the people mourned greatly. 40And they rose up early in the morning, and went up to the hill-top, saying, Here are we, and we will go up to the place of which Jehovah has spoken; for we have sinned. 41And Moses said, Why now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah? but it shall not prosper! 42Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies; 43for the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword; for as ye have turned away from Jehovah, Jehovah will not be with you. 44Yet they presumed to go up to the hill-top; but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and Moses, did not depart from the midst of the camp. 45And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt on that hill, came down and smote them, and cut them to pieces, as far as Hormah.
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Numbers 14: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Numbers 14
14
The Israelites Rebel against Moses
1After the Israelites heard the report from the twelve men who had explored Canaan, the people cried all night 2and complained to Moses and Aaron, “We wish we had died in Egypt or somewhere out here in the desert! 3Is the Lord leading us into Canaan, just to have us killed and our women and children captured? We'd be better off in Egypt.” 4Then they said to one another, “Let's choose our own leader and go back.”
5Moses and Aaron bowed down to pray in front of the crowd. 6Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes in sorrow 7and said:
We saw the land ourselves, and it's very good. 8If we obey the Lord, he will surely give us that land rich with milk and honey. 9#He 3.16. So don't rebel. We have no reason to be afraid of the people who live there. The Lord is on our side, and they won't stand a chance against us!
10The crowd threatened to stone Moses and Aaron to death. But just then, the Lord appeared in a cloud at the sacred tent.
Moses Prays for the People
11The Lord said to Moses, “I have done great things for these people, and they still reject me by refusing to believe in my power. 12So they will no longer be my people. I will destroy them, but I will make you the ancestor of a nation even stronger than theirs.”
13-16 #
Ex 32.11-14. Moses replied:
With your mighty power you rescued your people from Egypt, so please don't destroy us here in the desert. If you do, the Egyptians will hear about it and tell the people of Canaan. Those Canaanites already know that we are your people, and that we see you face to face. And they have heard how you lead us with a thick cloud during the day and flaming fire at night. But if you kill us, they will claim it was because you weren't powerful enough to lead us into Canaan as you promised.
17Show us your great power, Lord. You promised 18#Ex 20.5,6; 34.6,7; Dt 5.9,10; 7.9,10. that you love to show mercy and kindness. And you said that you are very patient, but that you will punish everyone guilty of doing wrong—not only them but their children and grandchildren as well.
19You are merciful, and you treat people better than they deserve. So please forgive these people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.
20Then the Lord said to Moses:
In answer to your prayer, I do forgive them. 21#He 3.18. But as surely as I live and my power has no limit, 22-23I swear that not one of these Israelites will enter the land I promised to give their ancestors. These people have seen my power in Egypt and in the desert, but they will never see Canaan. They have disobeyed and tested me too many times.
24 #
Js 14.9-12. But my servant Caleb isn't like the others. So because he has faith in me, I will allow him to cross into Canaan, and his descendants will settle there.
25Now listen, Moses! The Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys of Canaan.#14.25 The Amalekites and the Canaanites … valleys of Canaan: That is, all possible ways into Canaan were blocked. And tomorrow, you'll need to turn around and head back into the desert toward the Red Sea.#14.25 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Aqaba, since the term is extended to include the northeastern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at Exodus 13.18).
The Israelites Are Punished for Complaining
26The Lord told Moses and Aaron 27-28to give this message to the people of Israel:
You sinful people have complained against me too many times! Now I swear by my own life that I will give you exactly what you wanted.#14.27,28 wanted: See verse 2. 29#He 3.17. You will die right here in the desert, and your dead bodies will cover the ground. You have insulted me, and none of you men who are over 20 years old 30will enter the land that I solemnly promised to give you as your own—only Caleb and Joshua#14.30 Caleb and Joshua: Hebrew “Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” will go in.
31You were worried that your own children would be captured. But I, the Lord, will let them enter the land you have rejected. 32You will die here in the desert! 33#Ac 7.36. Your children will wander around in this desert 40 years, suffering because of your sins, until all of you are dead. 34I will punish you severely every day for the next 40 years—one year for each day that the land was explored. 35You sinful people who ganged up against me will die here in the desert.
36Ten of the men sent to explore the land had brought back bad news and had made the people complain against the Lord. 37So he sent a deadly disease that killed those men, 38but he let Joshua and Caleb live.
The Israelites Fail To Enter Canaan
(Deuteronomy 1.41-45)
39The people of Israel were very sad after Moses gave them the Lord's message. 40So they got up early the next morning and got ready to head toward the hill country of Canaan. They said, “We were wrong to complain about the Lord. Let's go into the land that he promised us.”
41But Moses replied, “You're disobeying the Lord! Your plan won't work, 42-43so don't even try it. The Lord refuses to help you, because you turned your backs on him. The Amalekites and the Canaanites are your enemies, and they will attack and defeat you.”
44But the Israelites ignored Moses#14.44 ignored Moses: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. and marched toward the hill country, even though the sacred chest and Moses did not go with them. 45The Amalekites and the Canaanites came down from the hill country, defeated the Israelites, and chased them as far as the town of Hormah.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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