Numbers 14
1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried aloud; and the people wept that night.
That night, all the Israeli people cried loudly.
2 And all the people murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Oh who would grant that we had died in the land of Egypt! or that we might but die in this wilderness!
The next day they all complained to Aaron and Moses/me. All the men said, “We wish that we had died in Egypt, or in this desert!
3 And wherefore doth the Lord bring us unto yonder land, to fall by the sword? that our wives and our children may become a prey? is it not better for us to return to Egypt?
Why is Yahweh bringing us to this land, where we men will be killed with swords? And our wives and children will be taken away [to be slaves]. [Instead of going to Canaan]. It would be better for us to return to Egypt!”
4 And they said one to another, Let us appoint a chief, and let us return to Egypt.
Then [some of] them said to each other, “We should choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt!”
5 Then fell Moses and Aaron on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
Then Aaron and Moses/I bowed down [to pray] in front of all the Israeli people who had gathered there.
6 And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Yephunneh, of those that had spied out the land, rent their garments.
Joshua and Caleb, two of the men who had explored the land, tore their clothes [because they were very dismayed].
7 And they said unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, as followeth, The land, through which we have passed to spy it out, this land is exceedingly good.
They said to the Israeli people, “The land that we explored is very good.
8 If the Lord have delight in us, then will he bring us into this land, and give it to us: a land which is flowing with milk and honey.
If Yahweh is pleased with us, he will lead us into that very fertile [IDM] land, and he will give it to us.
9 Only against the Lord do ye not rebel; and then ye need not fear the people of the land; for they are our bread: their shadow is departed from them, while the Lord is with us; fear them not.
So do not rebel against Yahweh! And do not be afraid of the people in that land! We will (gobble them up/completely destroy them) [MET]! They do not have anyone who will protect them, but Yahweh will be with us [and help us]. So do not be afraid of them!”
10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones: when the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation unto all the children of Israel.
Then all the Israeli people talked about [killing Caleb and Joshua by] throwing stones at them. But [suddenly] Yahweh’s glory appeared to them at the Sacred Tent.
11 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long yet shall this people provoke me? and how long yet will they not believe in me, with all the signs which I have shown in the midst of them?
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “How long will these people reject me [RHQ]? I am tired of them not believing in what I [can do], in spite of all the miracles I have performed among them [RHQ]!
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and root them out, and I will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.
So I will cause a (plague/widespread sickness) to strike them and get rid of them. But I will cause your [descendants] to become a great nation. They will be a nation that is much greater and stronger than these people are.”
13 And Moses said unto the Lord, But when the Egyptian hear, from the midst of whom thou hast brought up in thy might this people; —
But Moses/I replied to Yahweh, “[Please do not do that, because] the people of Egypt will hear about it! You brought these Israeli people from Egypt by your great power,
14 And when they tell to the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that thou, Lord, art in the midst of this people, that face to face thou, Lord, art seen, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that in a pillar of cloud thou goest before them by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; —
and the people of Egypt will tell that to the [descendants of Canaan] who live in this land. Yahweh, they have already heard about you. They know that you have (been with/helped) these people and that they have seen you face-to-face. They have heard that your cloud is like a huge pillar that stays over them, and by using that cloud you lead them during the day, and the cloud becomes like a fire at night [to give them light].
15 That thou hast killed this people as one man: then will the nations that have heard thy fame, say in this manner,
If you kill these people all at one time, the people-groups who have heard about your [power] will say,
16 That because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he had sworn unto them, hath he slain them in the wilderness.
‘Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land that he promised to give to them, so he killed them in the desert.’
17 And now, I beseech thee, let the greatness of the power of the Lord be made manifest, as thou hast spoken, saying,
“So Yahweh, now show that you are very powerful. You said,
18 The Eternal is long-suffering, and abundant in beneficence, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
‘I do not quickly become angry; instead, I love people very much, and I forgive people for having sinned and having disobeyed my laws. But I will always punish [LIT] people who are guilty of doing what is wrong. When parents sin, I will punish them, but I will also punish their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren.’
19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of thy beneficence, and as thou hast been indulgent to this people, from Egypt even until hitherto.
So, because you love people like that, forgive these people for the sins that they have committed, just like you have continued to forgive them ever since they left Egypt.”
20 And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word.
Then Yahweh replied, “I have forgiven them, as you requested me to.
21 But as truly as I live, and as all the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord: —
But, just as certainly as I live and that people all over the world [can see] my (glory/glorious power), [I solemnly declare this: ]
22 That all the men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I have displayed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice,
All these people saw my glory and all the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the desert, but they disobeyed me, and many times they tested [whether they could continue to do evil things without my punishing them].
23 Shall surely not see the land which I have sworn unto their fathers, yea all those that have provoked me shall not see it.
Because of that, not one of them will see the land that I promised their ancestors [that I would give to them]. No one who rejected me will see that land.
24 But my servant Caleb, as a reward that he had another spirit with him, and followed me fully, —therefore will I bring him into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
But Caleb, who serves me [well], is different from the others. He obeys me completely. So I will bring him into that land that he has already seen, and his descendants will inherit/possess some of it.
25 And the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley: tomorrow turn you, and set forward into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
So, since the descendants of Amalek and Canaan who are living in the valleys [in Canaan are very strong], when you leave here tomorrow, [instead of traveling toward Canaan], go back along the road through the desert towards the Red Sea.”
26 And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
27 How long [shall indulgence be given] to this evil congregation, that murmur against me? the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me, have I heard.
“How long will the wicked people of this nation keep complaining about me [RHQ]? I have heard everything that they have grumbled/complained against me.
28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you:
So now tell them this: ‘Just as certainly as I, Yahweh, live, I will do exactly what you said would happen.
29 In this wilderness shall your carcasses fall, and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward; ye who have murmured against me;
[I will cause] all of you to die here in this desert! Because you grumbled about me, none of you who are more than 20 years old and who were counted when Moses counted everyone
30 Truly ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I have lifted up my hand to let you dwell therein; save Caleb the son of Yephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
will enter the land that I solemnly promised to give to you. Only Caleb and Joshua will enter that land.
31 But your little ones of which ye said, They would become a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
You said that your children would be taken from you [to become slaves], but I will take them into the land, and they will enjoy living in the land that you (rejected/said that you could not conquer).
32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
But as for you [adults], you will die here in this desert.
33 And your children shall wander about in the wilderness forty years, and bear your backslidings, until your carcasses be spent in the wilderness.
And like shepherds [wander around in the desert as they take care of their sheep], your children will wander around in this desert for 40 years. Because you adults were not loyal/faithful to me, your children will suffer until you all die in the desert.
34 After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land, forty days, yea, each one day for a year, shall ye bear for your iniquities, forty years; and ye shall experience my withdrawal [of protection].
You will suffer for your sins for 40 years. That will be one year for each of the 40 days that the twelve men explored Canaan land. And I will be like an enemy to you.’
35 I the Lord have spoken it, surely, this will I do unto all this evil congregation that have assembled against me: in this wilderness shall they be spent, and therein shall they die.
[This will certainly happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it! I will do these things to every one in this group who conspired against me. They (conspired against/decided together to reject) me here in the desert, and they will all die right here in this desert!”
36 And the men whom Moses had sent to spy out the land, and who returned, and caused all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land,
Then the ten men [who had explored Canaan and] who had urged the people to rebel against Yahweh by giving reports that discouraged the people
37 Even these men, that had brought up the evil report of the land, died by the plague before the Lord.
were immediately struck with a plague/disease that Yahweh sent, and they died.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Yephunneh, remained alive of those men, who had gone to spy out the land.
Of the twelve men who had explored Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.
39 And Moses spoke these words unto all the children of Israel; and the people mourned greatly.
When Moses/I reported to the Israeli people what Yahweh had said, many of them were very sad.
40 And they rose up early in the morning, and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, here we are, and we will go up unto the place of which the Lord hath spoken; for we have sinned.
So the people got up early the next morning and started to go toward the hilly area in Canaan. They said, “[We know that] we have sinned, but now we [are ready to] enter the land that Yahweh promised to give to us.”
41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the order of the Lord? and it will not prosper.
But Moses/I said, “Yahweh commanded you [to return to the desert, so] why are you now disobeying him [RHQ]? It will not (succeed/be possible).
42 Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye may not be smitten before your enemies.
Do not try to enter the land now! [If you try], your enemies will defeat you, because Yahweh will not (be with/help) you.
43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye will fall by the sword; since, because ye are turned away from the Lord, the Lord also will not be with you.
When you begin to fight the descendants of Amalek and Canaan, they will slaughter you! Yahweh will abandon you, because you have abandoned him.”
44 Yet they persisted to go up unto the top of the mountain; but the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, did not move out of the camp.
But even though Moses/I did not leave the camp, and the sacred chest that contained the Ten Commandments was not taken from the camp, the people began to go towards the hilly area in Canaan.
45 Then came down the Amalekites, and the Canaanites that dwelt on that mountain, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Chormah.
Then the descendants of Amalek and Canaan who lived in that hilly area came down and attacked them and chased them as far [south] as [the town of] Hormah.
