Liber Numeri 14
1 Igitur vociferans omnis turba flevit nocte illa,
Then everybody there cried out loud all night.
2 et murmurati sunt contra Moysen et Aaron cuncti filii Israel, dicentes:
All the Israelites went and complained to Moses and Aaron, telling them, “If only we'd died in Egypt, or here in this desert!
3 Utinam mortui essemus in Ægypto: et in hac vasta solitudine utinam pereamus, et non inducat nos Dominus in Terram istam, ne cadamus gladio, et uxores ac liberi nostri ducantur captivi. Nonne melius est reverti in Ægyptum?
Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to get us killed? Our wives and children will be captured and taken away as slaves! Wouldn't we be better off going back to Egypt?”
4 Dixeruntque alter ad alterum: Constituamus nobis ducem, et revertamur in Ægyptum.
They said to one another, “Let's choose a new leader us and go back to Egypt.”
5 Quo audito Moyses et Aaron ceciderunt proni in terram coram omni multitudine filiorum Israel.
Moses and Aaron fellfacedown on the ground in front of all the assembled Israelites.
6 At vero Iosue filius Nun, et Caleb filius Iephone, qui et ipsi lustraverant terram, sciderunt vestimenta sua,
Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, were there. They had been part of the group who had gone to spy out the land. They ripped their clothes,
7 et ad omnem multitudinem filiorum Israel locuti sunt: Terra, quam circuivimus, valde bona est.
and told the Israelites, “The country we traveled through and explored has very good land.
8 Si propitius fuerit Dominus, inducet nos in eam, et tradet humum lacte et melle manantem.
If the Lord is happy with us, he will take us there and give it to us, a land that's so productive it's like flowing with milk and honey.
9 Nolite rebelles esse contra Dominum: neque timeatis populum terræ huius, quia sicut panem ita eos possumus devorare. Recessit ab eis omne præsidium: Dominus nobiscum est, nolite metuere.
Don't rebel and fight against the Lord. You don't need to be afraid of the people living there in the country—we can take them easily! They're defenseless and the Lord is with us. Don't be frightened of them!”
10 Cumque clamaret omnis multitudo, et lapidibus eos vellet opprimere, apparuit gloria Domini super tectum fœderis cunctis filiis Israel.
In reply all the people shouted out, “Stone them!” But the glory of the Lord suddenly appeared in the Tent of Meeting, right in the middle of the Israelites.
11 Et dixit Dominus ad Moysen: Usquequo detrahet mihi populus iste? Quousque non credent mihi in omnibus signis, quæ feci coram eis?
The Lord told Moses, “How long are these people going to reject me? How long are these people going to refuse to trust in me despite all the miracles I have done right in front of them?
12 Feriam igitur eos pestilentia, atque consumam: te autem faciam principem super gentem magnam, et fortiorem quam hæc est.
I'm going to make them sick with a disease and kill them. Then I will make you into a nation that's greater and strong than them.”
13 Et ait Moyses ad Dominum: Ut audiant Ægyptii, de quorum medio eduxisti populum istum,
But Moses told the Lord, “The Egyptians will find out about it! It was by your power that you led the Israelites out from among them.
14 et habitatores Terræ huius, qui audierunt quod tu Domine in populo isto sis, et facie videaris ad faciem, et nubes tua protegat illos, et in columna nubis præcedas eos per diem, et in columna ignis per noctem:
They will tell the people living in this country all about it. They've already heard that you, Lord, are with us Israelites, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, that your cloud stands guard over them, and that you lead them by a pillar of cloud during day and a pillar of fire at night.
15 quod occideris tantam multitudinem quasi unum hominem, et dicant:
If you kill all these people in one go, the nations who have heard about you will say,
16 Non poterat introducere populum in Terram, pro qua iuraverat: idcirco occidit eos in solitudine.
‘The Lord killed these people in the desert because he wasn't able to take them to the country he promised to give them. He's killed them all in desert!’
17 Magnificetur ergo fortitudo Domini sicut iurasti, dicens:
Now, Lord, please demonstrate the extent of your power just as you have said:
18 Dominus patiens et multæ misericordiæ, auferens iniquitatem et scelera, nullumque innoxium derelinquens, qui visitas peccata patrum in filios in tertiam et quartam generationem.
The Lord is slow to become angry and is full of trustworthy love, forgiving sin and rebellion. However, he will not allow the guilty to go unpunished, bringing the consequences of the parents' sin on their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
19 Dimitte, obsecro, peccatum populi huius secundum magnitudinem misericordiæ tuæ, sicut propitius fuisti egredientibus de Ægypto usque ad locum istum.
Please forgive the sin of these people since your trustworthy love is so great, in the same way that you have forgiven them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 Dixitque Dominus: Dimisi iuxta verbum tuum.
“I have forgiven them as you asked,” the Lord replied.
21 Vivo ego: et implebitur gloria Domini universa terra.
“But even so, as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord's glory,
22 At tamen omnes homines qui viderunt maiestatem meam, et signa quæ feci in Ægypto et in solitudine, et tentaverunt me iam per decem vices, nec obedierunt voci meæ,
not a single one of the those who saw my glory and the miracles I did in Egypt and in the desert—but provoked me and refused to obey me time and time again—
23 non videbunt Terram pro qua iuravi patribus eorum, nec quisquam ex illis qui detraxit mihi, intuebitur eam.
not a single one of them is ever going to see the country I promised to give their forefathers. None of those who rejected me will see it.
24 Servum meum Caleb, qui plenus alio spiritu secutus est me, inducam in Terram hanc, quam circuivit: et semen eius possidebit eam.
But because my servant Caleb has a totally different spirit and is fully committed to me, I will lead him to the country he visited, and his descendants will own it.
25 Quoniam Amalecites et Chananæus habitant in vallibus. Cras movete castra, et revertimini in solitudinem per viam Maris Rubri.
Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, tomorrow you are to turn around and head back into the desert, taking the route towards the Red Sea.”
26 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen et Aaron, dicens:
The Lord told Moses and Aaron,
27 Usquequo multitudo hæc pessima murmurat contra me? Querelas filiorum Israel audivi.
“How much longer are these wicked people going to criticize me? I've heard what they're saying, making complaints against me.
28 Dic ergo eis: Vivo ego, ait Dominus: sicut locuti estis audiente me, sic faciam vobis.
Go and tell them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, I'll do just what I heard you say you wanted, believe me!
29 In solitudine hac iacebunt cadavera vestra. Omnes qui numerati estis a viginti annis et supra, et murmurastis contra me,
All of you will die in this desert, everyone who was registered in the census that counted those aged twenty or over, because you made complaints against me.
30 non intrabitis Terram, super quam levavi manum meam ut habitare vos facerem, præter Caleb filium Iephone, et Iosue filium Nun.
Absolutely none of you will enter the country I promised to give you to live in, except for Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun.
31 Parvulos autem vestros, de quibus dixistis quod prædæ hostibus forent, introducam: ut videant Terram, quæ vobis displicuit.
However, I will take your children—those you said would be taken away as plunder—into the country you rejected, and they will appreciate it.
32 Vestra cadavera iacebunt in solitudine.
But you—you are all going to die in this desert.
33 Filii vestri erunt vagi in deserto annis quadraginta, et portabunt fornicationem vestram, donec consumantur cadavera patrum in deserto,
Your children will wander in the desert for forty years, suffering because of your lack of trust until all your bodies lie buried in the desert.
34 iuxta numerum quadraginta dierum, quibus considerastis Terram: annus pro die imputabitur. Et quadraginta annis recipietis iniquitates vestras, et scietis ultionem meam:
Just as you explored the country for forty days, so shall your punishment for your sins be forty years, a year for every day, and you will see what happens when I oppose you.
35 quoniam sicut locutus sum, ita faciam omni multitudini huic pessimæ, quæ consurrexit adversum me: in solitudine hac deficiet, et morietur.
I, the Lord, have spoken! Just see if I won't do this to all these wicked Israelites who have got together to oppose me! They will end their lives in the desert—they will die there.’”
36 Igitur omnes viri, quos miserat Moyses ad contemplandam Terram, et qui reversi murmurare fecerant contra eum omnem multitudinem, detrahentes Terræ quod esset mala,
The men that Moses had sent to explore the country—those who came back and because they gave a bad report they made all the Israelites complain against the Lord—
37 mortui sunt atque percussi in conspectu Domini.
those men who gave the bad report died before the Lord from plague.
38 Iosue autem filius Nun, et Caleb filius Iephone vixerunt ex omnibus, qui perrexerant ad considerandam Terram.
The only ones who lived were Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh of those who went to explore the country.
39 Locutusque est Moyses universa verba hæc ad omnes filios Israel, et luxit populus nimis.
When Moses told the Israelites what the Lord had said they were very, very sad.
40 Et ecce mane primo surgentes ascenderunt verticem montis, atque dixerunt: Parati sumus ascendere ad locum, de quo Dominus locutus est: quia peccavimus.
They got up early the next morning planning to go into the hill country. “Yes we really did sin,” they said, “but now we're here and we'll go where the Lord told us.”
41 Quibus Moyses: Cur, inquit, transgredimini verbum Domini, quod vobis non cedet in prosperum?
But Moses objected. “Why are you disobeying the Lord's command? You won't succeed in your plan!
42 Nolite ascendere: non enim est Dominus vobiscum: ne corruatis coram inimicis vestris.
Don't try and go, otherwise you will be killed by your enemies, because the Lord isn't with you.
43 Amalecites et Chananæus ante vos sunt, quorum gladio corruetis, eo quod nolueritis acquiescere Domino, nec erit Dominus vobiscum.
The Amalekites and Canaanites living there will attack you, and you will die by the sword. Because you rejected the Lord, he won't help you.”
44 At illi contenebrati ascenderunt in verticem montis. Arca autem testamenti Domini et Moyses non recesserunt de castris.
But they were arrogant and went up into the hill country, even though Moses and the Ark of the Lord's Agreement didn't move from the camp.
45 Descenditque Amalecites et Chananæus, qui habitabat in monte: et percutiens eos atque concidens, persecutus est eos usque Horma.
The Amalekites and Canaanites who lived there in the hill country came down and attacked the Israelites and defeated them, and chased them all the way to Hormah.
