Numbers 14
1 And the whole assembly lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
And so, crying out, the entire crowd wept throughout that night.
2 And 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!
And all the sons of Israel were murmuring against Moses and Aaron, saying:
3 And 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?
“If only we had died in Egypt,” and, “If only we would perish in this vast wilderness,” and, “May the Lord not lead us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives, as well as our children, be led away as captives. Is it not better to return to Egypt?”
4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt.
And they said to one another, “Let us appoint our leader, and so return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before the whole congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel.
And when Moses and Aaron heard this, they fell prone on the ground in the sight of the multitude of the sons of Israel.
6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of them that searched out the land, rent their garments.
Yet truly, Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who themselves had also viewed the land, tore their garments,
7 And 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.
and they said to the entire multitude of the sons of Israel: “The land that we circled through is very good.
8 If Jehovah delight in us, he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land that flows with milk and honey;
If the Lord will be gracious to us, he will lead us into it, and he will give us the land flowing with milk and honey.
9 only 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.
Do not choose to be rebellious against the Lord. And do not fear the people of this land, for, like bread, so are we able to devour them. All protection has withdrawn from them. The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid.”
10 And 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.
And when the entire multitude cried out, and they wanted to crush them with stones, the glory of the Lord appeared, over the roof of the covenant, to all the sons of Israel.
11 And 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?
And the Lord said to Moses: “How long will this people disparage me? How long will they refuse to believe me, despite all the signs that I have wrought before them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and destroy them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.
Therefore, I will strike them with a pestilence, and so I will consume them. But you I will make the ruler over a great nation, and one which is mightier than this one.”
13 And Moses said to Jehovah, Then the Egyptians will hear it; for in thy might thou broughtest up this people from the midst of them;
And Moses said to the Lord: “But then the Egyptians, from whose midst you led out this people,
14 and 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;
and the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that you, O Lord, are among this people, and that you are seen face to face, and that your cloud protects them, and that you go before them with a column of cloud by day, and a column of fire by night,
15 if thou now slayest this people as one man, then the nations that have heard thy fame will speak, saying,
may hear that you have killed so great a multitude, as if they were one man, and they may say:
16 Because 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.
‘He was not able to lead the people into the land about which he had sworn. Therefore, he slew them in the wilderness.’
17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
Therefore, may the strength of the Lord be magnified, just as you swore, saying:
18 Jehovah 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].
‘The Lord is patient and full of mercy, taking away iniquity and wickedness, and forsaking no one who is harmless. He visits the sins of the fathers upon the sons, to the third and fourth generation.’
19 Pardon, 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.
Forgive, I beg you, the sins of this people, according to the greatness of your mercy, just as you have been gracious to them in their journey from Egypt to this place.”
20 And Jehovah said, I have pardoned according to thy word.
And the Lord said: “I have forgiven them according to your word.
21 But as surely as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah!
Also, as I live, the entire world shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
22 for 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,
And yet, all the men who have seen my majesty, and the signs that I have wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, and who have tested me ten times already, and yet have not obeyed my voice,
23 shall in no wise see the land which I did swear unto their fathers: none of them that despised me shall see it.
these shall not see the land, about which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who detracted me gaze upon it.
24 But 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.
My servant Caleb, who, being full of another spirit, has followed me, I will lead into this land, through which he has wandered, and his offspring 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.
For the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys. Tomorrow, move the camp and return into the wilderness, by the way of the Red Sea.”
26 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
27 How 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.
“How long will this very wicked multitude murmur against me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel.
28 Say unto them, As surely as I live, saith Jehovah, if I do not do unto you as ye have spoken in mine ears!
Therefore, say to them: As I live, says the Lord, as you spoke in my hearing, so will I do to you.
29 In 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,
In the wilderness, here shall your carcasses lie. All you who were numbered from twenty years and above, and who have murmured against me,
30 shall 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.
you shall not enter into the land, over which I lifted up my hand to cause you to live there, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
31 But 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.
But your little ones, about whom you said that they would be a prey to the enemies, I will lead them in, so that they may see the land that has displeased you.
32 And as to you, your carcases shall fall in this wilderness.
Your carcasses shall lie in the wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
Your sons shall wander in the desert for forty years, and they shall bear your fornication, until the carcasses of their fathers are consumed in the desert.
34 After 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].
According to the number of the forty days, during which you examined the land, one year shall be charged for each day. And so, for forty years you shall take back your iniquities, and you shall know my retribution.
35 I 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.
For just as I have spoken, so shall I do, to this entire most wicked multitude, which has risen up together against me. In the wilderness, here shall it fade away and die.”
36 And 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,
Therefore, all the men, whom Moses had sent to contemplate the land, and who, having returned, had caused the entire multitude to murmur against him, disparaging the land as if it were evil,
37 even those men who had brought up an evil report upon the land, died by a plague before Jehovah.
suffered death and were struck down in the sight of the Lord.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, lived still of the men that had gone to search out the land.
But only Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, out of all those who had journeyed to examine the land.
39 And Moses told all these sayings to all the children of Israel; then the people mourned greatly.
And Moses spoke all these words to all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned exceedingly.
40 And 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.
And behold, rising up at first light, they climbed to the top of the mountain, and they said, “We are prepared to ascend to the place, about which the Lord has spoken, for we have sinned.”
41 And Moses said, Why now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah? but it shall not prosper!
And Moses said to them: “Why do you transgress the word of the Lord, merely because it will not result in prosperity for you?
42 Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies;
Do not ascend, for the Lord is not with you, lest you be overthrown before your enemies.
43 for 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.
The Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you, by whose sword you shall be ruined, for you were not willing to consent to the Lord, and so the Lord is not with you.”
44 Yet 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.
But they, having been darkened, ascended to the top of the mountain. But the ark of the testament of the Lord, and Moses, did not withdraw from the camp.
45 And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt on that hill, came down and smote them, and cut them to pieces, as far as Hormah.
And the Amalekites descended, along with those Canaanites who were living in the mountains. And so, striking and cutting them down, they pursued them all the way to Hormah.
