Numbers 14
1 Then did all the assembly lift up, and give forth their voice, —and the people wept throughout that night.
That night, all the Israeli people cried loudly.
2 And all the sons of Israel, murmured against Moses and against Aaron, —and all the assembly said unto them—Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt, Or in this wilderness, oh that we had died!
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 Wherefore then is Yahweh bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones, will become a prey! Would it not be well for us to go back towards 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 head and let us go back towards Egypt.
Then [some of] them said to each other, “We should choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt!”
5 Then did Moses and Aaron fall upon their faces, —before all the convocation of the assembly of the sons of Israel.
Then Aaron and Moses/I bowed down [to pray] in front of all the Israeli people who had gathered there.
6 But, Joshua son of Nun, and Caleb son of Jephunneh, of them who spied out the land, rent their clothes;
Joshua and Caleb, two of the men who had explored the land, tore their clothes [because they were very dismayed].
7 and spake unto all the assembly of the sons of Israel, saying, —As for the land through which we passed to spy it out, Good, is the land, exceedingly,
They said to the Israeli people, “The land that we explored is very good.
8 If Yahweh delight in us, then will he bring us into this land, and give it unto us, —A land which doth flow 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 Yahweh, do not rebel. Do not, ye, fear the people of the land, For our food, they are, —Their shade hath departed, from over them. And Yahweh is with us, Do not fear them!
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 when all the assembly bade stone them with stones, the glory of Yahweh, appeared, in the tent of meeting, unto all the sons 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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses How long! must this people, despise me? And how long can they not believe in me. in view of all the signs which I have done in their midst?
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 Let me smite them with pestilence, and disinherit them, —And make thee into a nation greater and more mighty 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 Then said Moses unto Yahweh, —So shall the Egyptians hear, For thou hast brought up. in thy might, this people out of their midst;
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 will tell it unto the inhabitants of this land: They have heard, That, thou, Yahweh, art in the midst of this people, —That eye to eye, is he seen—thou, Yahweh, And thy cloud, is standing over them, And in a pillar of cloud, thou thyself, art going on 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 As soon, therefore, as thou hast put to death this people as one man, so soon will the nations who have heard thy fame speak saying:
If you kill these people all at one time, the people-groups who have heard about your [power] will say,
16 Because Yahweh, was not able, to bring in this people into the land which he had sworn unto them, therefore did he slay them in the desert.
‘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 Now, therefore, I beseech thee let the might of My Lord, be magnified, —according as thou didst speak saying:
“So Yahweh, now show that you are very powerful. You said,
18 Yahweh—slow to anger and great in lovingkindness, Forgiving iniquity and transgression: Though he will not leave, wholly unpunished, Visiting the iniquity of fathers upon sons, Upon a third generation, and upon a fourth.
‘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 lovingkindness, —And according as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even thus far.
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 Yahweh said, I have pardoned according to thy word;
Then Yahweh replied, “I have forgiven them, as you requested me to.
21 Nevertheless as I live, —and that all the earth may be filled with the glory of Yahweh,
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 Verily, none of the men who have been beholding my glory and my signs, which I have done in Egypt and in the desert, —and have put me to the proof these ten times, and have not hearkened unto 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 see the land, which I sware to their fathers, —yea, none of my despisers, shall 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—because there was another spirit with him, and he followed me fully, therefore will I bring him into the land whereinto he entered, 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 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites, are dwelling in the valley, —to-morrow, turn ye away; and set yourselves forward towards the desert by the way of 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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:
Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
27 How long, as regardeth this evil assembly, are they to be murmuring against me? The murmuring of the sons of Israel which, they, have been murmuring 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 I live, is the oracle of Yahweh: Surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so, will I do unto 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 desert, shall your dead bodies fall And none of you who were numbered in all your counting, from twenty years old and upwards, —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 none of you, shall enter into the land, as to which I uplifted my hand to give you an abode therein, —save Caleb son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun:
will enter the land that I solemnly promised to give to you. Only Caleb and Joshua will enter that land.
31 whereas, your little ones, of whom ye said, they should become, a prey, I will bring them in, and they shall acknowledge the land which ye refused.
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, your own dead bodies, shall fall in this desert;
But as for you [adults], you will die here in this desert.
33 and your sons, shall be shepherds in the desert forty years, and shall bear your unchastities, —until your dead bodies are consumed in the desert.
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 By the number of the days wherein ye spied out the land—forty days, each day for a year, shall they bear your iniquities—forty years, —so shall ye know my opposition.
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—Yahweh, have spoken, Verily this, will I do to all this evil assembly, who have conspired against me, —In this desert, shall they be consumed And there, 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 Now as for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, —who returned and caused all the assembly to murmur against him by giving out a rumour 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 they died—the men who gave out an evil rumour of the land, —by the plague, before Yahweh.
were immediately struck with a plague/disease that Yahweh sent, and they died.
38 But, Joshua son of Nun, and Caleb son of Jephunneh! remained alive—of those men who went to spy out the land.
Of the twelve men who had explored Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.
39 And Moses spake these words unto all the sons of Israel, and the people were greatly depressed.
When Moses/I reported to the Israeli people what Yahweh had said, many of them were very sad.
40 So they arose early in the morning, and went up into the top of the mountain, saying, —We are here—therefore will we go up into the place as to which Yahweh hath said that 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 But Moses said, Wherefore is it that, ye, are going beyond the bidding of Yahweh, —since that cannot 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 Yahweh is not in your midst, —Lest ye be smitten down 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, So shall ye fall by the sword, —For inasmuch as ye have turned back from following Yahweh, Therefore will Yahweh 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 But they presumptuously ascended into the top of the mountain, —though, neither, the ark of the covenant of Yahweh nor Moses moved out of the midst 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 So ten the Amalekites and the Canaanites, that dwelt in that mountain, came down, —and smote them and routed them even unto Hormah.
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.
