Numbers 14
1 That night all the community wept loudly.
And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried aloud; and the people wept that night.
2 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!
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!
3 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?”
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?
4 They said to each another, “Let us choose another leader, and let us return to Egypt.”
And they said one to another, Let us appoint a chief, and let us return to Egypt.
5 Then Moses and Aaron lay facedown before all the assembly of the community of the people of Israel.
Then fell Moses and Aaron on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were some of those sent to examine the land, tore their clothes.
And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Yephunneh, of those that had spied out the land, rent their garments.
7 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.
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.
8 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.
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.
9 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.”
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.
10 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.
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.
11 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?
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?
12 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.”
I will smite them with the pestilence, and root them out, and I will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.
13 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.
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; —
14 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.
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; —
15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations that have heard of your fame will speak and say,
That thou hast killed this people as one man: then will the nations that have heard thy fame, say in this manner,
16 'Because Yahweh could not take this people into the land that he swore to give them, he has killed them in the wilderness.'
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.
17 Now, I beg you, use your great power. For you have said,
And now, I beseech thee, let the greatness of the power of the Lord be made manifest, as thou hast spoken, saying,
18 '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.'
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.
19 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.”
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.
20 Yahweh said, “I have pardoned them in keeping with your request,
And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word.
21 but truly, as I live, and as all the earth will be filled with my glory,
But as truly as I live, and as all the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord: —
22 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.
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,
23 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,
Shall surely not see the land which I have sworn unto their fathers, yea all those that have provoked me shall not see it.
24 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.
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.
25 (Now the Amalekites and Canaanites lived in the valley.) Tomorrow turn and go to the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Reeds.”
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.
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
27 “How long must I tolerate this evil community that criticizes me? I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel against me.
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.
28 Say to them, 'As I live,' says Yahweh, 'as you have spoken in my hearing, I will do this to you:
Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you:
29 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.
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;
30 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.
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.
31 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!
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.
32 As for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness.
But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
33 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.
And your children shall wander about in the wilderness forty years, and bear your backslidings, until your carcasses be spent in the wilderness.
34 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.
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].
35 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.'”
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.
36 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—
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,
37 these men who had brought out a bad report about the land were struck down, and they died of a plague before Yahweh.
Even these men, that had brought up the evil report of the land, died by the plague before the Lord.
38 Of those men who had gone to spy out the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive.
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.
39 When Moses reported these words to all the people of Israel, they mourned very deeply.
And Moses spoke these words unto all the children of Israel; and the people mourned greatly.
40 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.”
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.
41 But Moses said, “Why are you now violating Yahweh's command? You will not succeed.
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the order of the Lord? and it will not prosper.
42 Do not go, because Yahweh is not with you to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.
Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye may not be smitten before your enemies.
43 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.”
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.
44 But they presumed to go up into the hill country; however, neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of Yahweh left the camp.
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.
45 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.
Then came down the Amalekites, and the Canaanites that dwelt on that mountain, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Chormah.
