Numbers 14
1 And the whole assembly lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
That night all the community wept loudly.
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!
All the people of Israel criticized Moses and Aaron. The whole community said to them, “We wish we had died in the land of Egypt, or here in this wilderness!
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?
Why did Yahweh bring us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become victims. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?”
4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt.
They said to each another, “Let us choose another leader, and let us return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before the whole congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel.
Then Moses and Aaron lay facedown before all the assembly of the community of the people 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.
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were some of those sent to examine the land, tore their clothes.
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.
They spoke to all the community of the people of Israel. They said, “The land that we passed through and examined is a very good land.
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 Yahweh is pleased with us, then he will take us into this land and give it to us. The land flows 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.
But do not rebel against Yahweh, and do not fear the people in the land, for they are bread to us. Their protection will be removed from them, because Yahweh is with us. Do not fear them.”
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.
Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of Yahweh appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people 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?
Yahweh said to Moses, “How long must this people despise me? How long must they fail to trust me, despite all the signs of my power that I have done among them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and destroy them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.
I will attack them with plague, disinherit them, and make from your own clan a nation that will be greater and mightier than they are.”
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;
Moses said to Yahweh, “If you do this, then the Egyptians will hear about it, because you rescued this people from them by your power.
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;
They will tell it to this land's inhabitants. They have heard that you, Yahweh, are present with this people, because you are seen face to face. Your cloud stands over our people. You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar 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,
Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations that have heard of your fame will speak and 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.
'Because Yahweh could not take this people into the land that he swore to give them, he has killed them in the wilderness.'
17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
Now, I beg you, use your great power. For you have said,
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].
'Yahweh is slow to anger and abundant in covenant faithfulness. He forgives iniquity and transgression. He will by no means clear the guilty when he brings the punishment of the ancestors' sin on their descendants, 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.
Pardon, I plead with you, this people's sin because of the greatness of your covenant faithfulness, just as you have always forgiven this people from the time they were in Egypt until now.”
20 And Jehovah said, I have pardoned according to thy word.
Yahweh said, “I have pardoned them in keeping with your request,
21 But as surely as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah!
but truly, as I live, and as all the earth will be filled with my glory,
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,
all those people who saw my glory and the signs of power that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness—they have still tempted me these ten times and have not listened to 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.
So I say that they will certainly not see the land about which I made an oath to their ancestors. Not one of them who despised me will see 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.
except for my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit. He has followed me fully; I will bring him into the land which he went to examine. His descendants will 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.
(Now the Amalekites and Canaanites lived in the valley.) Tomorrow turn and go to the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Reeds.”
26 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,
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 must I tolerate this evil community that criticizes me? I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel against me.
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!
Say to them, 'As I live,' says Yahweh, 'as you have spoken in my hearing, I will do this 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,
Your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all you who complained against me, you who were counted in the census, the whole number of the people from twenty years old and upward.
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 will certainly not go into the land that I promised to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua 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 who you said would be victims, I will take them into the land. They will experience the land that you have rejected!
32 And as to you, your carcases shall fall in this wilderness.
As for you, your dead bodies will fall in this 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 children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years. They must bear the consequences of your acts of rebellion until the end of your corpses in the wilderness.
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].
Just as the number of the days during which you examined the land—forty days, you must likewise bear the consequences of your sins for forty years—one year for every day, and you must know what it is like for me to oppose you.
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.
I, Yahweh, have spoken. I will certainly do this to all this evil community that is gathered together against me. They will be completely cut off, and here they will 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,
So the men Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made the entire community grumble against Moses by spreading a bad report about the land—
37 even those men who had brought up an evil report upon the land, died by a plague before Jehovah.
these men who had brought out a bad report about the land were struck down, and they died of a plague before Yahweh.
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.
Of those men who had gone to spy out the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive.
39 And Moses told all these sayings to all the children of Israel; then the people mourned greatly.
When Moses reported these words to all the people of Israel, they mourned very deeply.
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.
They rose up early in the morning and went to the top of the mountain and said, “Look, we are here, and we will go to the place that Yahweh has promised, for we have sinned.”
41 And Moses said, Why now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah? but it shall not prosper!
But Moses said, “Why are you now violating Yahweh's command? You will not succeed.
42 Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies;
Do not go, because Yahweh is not with you to prevent you from being defeated by 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 Amalekites and Canaanites are there, and you will die by the sword because you turned back from following Yahweh. So he will not be 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 presumed to go up into the hill country; however, neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of Yahweh left 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.
Then the Amalekites came down, and also the Canaanites who lived on those hills. They attacked the Israelites and defeated them all the way to Hormah.
