Numbers 14

Modern

Literal

Israel’s Rebellion

¹Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept.

¹And all the congregation lifted up and gave forth their voices, and the people wept that night.

²All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!

²And all the sons of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!

³Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

³And why has YHWH brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

⁴So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

⁴And they said a man to his brother, “Let us set a leader and return to Egypt.”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel.

⁵And Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the face of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

⁶Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes

⁶And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes,

⁷and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land.

⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land that we passed through to spy out is a very exceedingly good land.

⁸If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us.

⁸And if YHWH delights in us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.

⁹Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”

⁹Only against YHWH do not rebel—you—nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and YHWH is with us. Do not fear them!”

¹⁰But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb.

Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁰And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. And the glory of YHWH appeared in the Tent of Meeting before all the sons of Israel.

¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them?

¹¹And YHWH said to Moses, “How long will this people reject Me, and how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed among them?

¹²I will strike them with a plague and destroy them—and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are.”

¹²I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for Israel

¹³But Moses said to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people from among them.

¹³And Moses said to YHWH, “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your power You brought up this people from among them.

¹⁴And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have already heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, that You, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that Your cloud stands over them, and that You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

¹⁴And they will tell to those dwelling in this land that they have heard that You, O YHWH, are among this people, that eye to eye You are seen, O YHWH, and Your cloud stands above them, and in a pillar of cloud You go before their faces by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.

¹⁵If You kill this people as one man, the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,

¹⁵And if You kill this people as one man, the nations that have heard of Your fame will speak, saying,

¹⁶‘Because the LORD was unable to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

¹⁶‘Because YHWH was not able to bring this people to the land that He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷So now I pray, may the power of my Lord be magnified, just as You have declared:

¹⁷And now, please, let the power of my Lord be great, as You have spoken, saying,

¹⁸‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion,^a forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’

¹⁸‘YHWH is slow to anger, and abundant in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and He aquits by no means, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons on the thirds and on the fourths.’

¹⁹Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

¹⁹Pardon, please, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your loving devotion, and as You have forgiven this people from Egypt even until now.”

God’s Forgiveness and Judgment

²⁰“I have pardoned them as you requested,” the LORD replied.

²⁰And YHWH said, “I have pardoned according to your word,

²¹“Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,

²¹but truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of YHWH;

²²not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times—

²²indeed all these men who have seen My glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test these ten times and have not heeded My voice,

²³not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it.

²³they shall surely not see the land that I swore to their fathers. And any of those who rejected Me shall not see it.

²⁴But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.

²⁴And My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has fully followed Me, I will bring into the land that he went into, and his seed shall inherit it.

²⁵Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”^a

²⁵And the Amalekite and the Canaanite are dwelling in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out for yourselves into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”

²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²⁶And YHWH spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²⁷“How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me.

²⁷“How long do I bear this evil congregation, they who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they make against Me.

²⁸So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say.

²⁸Say to them, as I live, says YHWH, very truly as you have spoken in My hearing, so will I do to you.

²⁹Your bodies will fall in this wilderness—all who were numbered in the census, everyone twenty years of age or older—because you have grumbled against Me.

²⁹In this wilderness your corpses shall fall, and all your numbered, according to your entire number, from a son of twenty years and above, because you have grumbled against Me.

³⁰Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

³⁰By no means shall you enter into the land, which I lifted up My hand to make you dwell in it, except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

³¹But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.

³¹And your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have despised.

³²As for you, however, your bodies will fall in this wilderness.

³²And as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.

³³Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.

³³And your sons shall be shepherds wandering in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.

³⁴In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation.

³⁴By the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days—a day for the year, a day for the year—you shall bear your guilt forty years, and you shall know My rejection.

³⁵I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this entire wicked congregation, which has conspired against Me. They will meet their end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”

³⁵I, YHWH, have spoken. Surely I will do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.”

The Plague on the Ten Spies

³⁶So the men Moses had sent to spy out the land, who had returned and made the whole congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report about the land—

³⁶And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and made complain all the congregation against him by bringing a bad report of the land—

³⁷those men who had brought out the bad report about the land—were struck down by a plague before the LORD.

³⁷those very men who brought an evil report about the land died by the plague before the face of YHWH.

³⁸Of those men who had gone to spy out the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive.

³⁸And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to spy out the land.

³⁹And when Moses relayed these words to all the Israelites, the people mourned bitterly.

³⁹And Moses told these words to all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.

The Defeat at Hormah

⁴⁰Early the next morning they got up and went up toward the ridge of the hill country. “We have indeed sinned,” they said, “but we will go to the place the LORD has promised.”

⁴⁰And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place that YHWH has promised. For we have sinned.”

⁴¹But Moses said, “Why are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD? This will not succeed!

⁴¹And Moses said, “Why is this—you are passing over the mouth of YHWH? For that will not succeed.

⁴²Do not go up, lest you be struck down by your enemies, because the LORD is not among you.

⁴²Do not go up, for YHWH is not among you, lest you be struck down before the face of your enemies.

⁴³For there the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from the LORD, He will not be with you.”

⁴³For the Amalekite and the Canaanite are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword, for upon thus you have turned away from YHWH, and YHWH will not be with you.”

⁴⁴But they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of the LORD moved from the camp.

⁴⁴And they presumed to go up unto the top of the hill; and neither the ark of the covenant of YHWH, nor Moses, departed from the midst of the camp.

⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.

⁴⁵And the Amalekite and the Canaanite who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.