Numbers 14
1 Then all the people gave load cries of grief, and all that night they gave themselves up to weeping.
That night, all the Israeli people cried loudly.
2 And all the children of Israel, crying out against Moses and Aaron, said, If only we had come to our death in the land of Egypt, or even in this waste land!
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 Why is the Lord taking us into this land to come to our death by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will get into strange hands: would it not be better for us to go back 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 to one another, Let us make a captain over us, and go back to Egypt.
Then [some of] them said to each other, “We should choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt!”
5 Then Moses and Aaron went down on their faces before the meeting of the people.
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 Jephunneh, two of those who had been to see the land, giving signs of grief,
Joshua and Caleb, two of the men who had explored the land, tore their clothes [because they were very dismayed].
7 Said to all the children of Israel, This land which we went through to see is a very good land.
They said to the Israeli people, “The land that we explored is very good.
8 And if the Lord has delight in us, he will take us into this land and give it to us, a land 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, do not go against the Lord or go in fear of the people of the land, for they will be our food; their strength has been taken from them and the Lord is with us: have no fear of 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 all the people said they were to be stoned. Then the glory of the Lord was seen in the Tent of meeting, before the eyes of 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 to Moses, How long will this people have no respect for me? how long will they be without faith, in the face of all the signs I have done among 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 send disease on them for their destruction, and take away their heritage, and I will make of you a nation greater and stronger 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 to the Lord, Then it will come to the ears of the Egyptians; for by your power you took this people out from among them;
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 they will give the news to the people of this land: they have had word that you, Lord, are present with this people, letting yourself be seen face to face, and that your cloud is resting over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud 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 Now if you put to death all this people as one man, then the nations who have had word of your glory will say,
If you kill these people all at one time, the people-groups who have heard about your [power] will say,
16 Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land.
‘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 So now, may my prayer come before you, and let the power of the Lord be great, as you said:
“So Yahweh, now show that you are very powerful. You said,
18 The Lord is slow to wrath and great in mercy, overlooking wrongdoing and evil, and will not let wrongdoers go free; sending punishment on children for the sins of their fathers, to the third and 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 May the sin of this people have forgiveness, in the measure of your great mercy, as you have had mercy on them from Egypt up till now.
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 had mercy, as you say:
Then Yahweh replied, “I have forgiven them, as you requested me to.
21 But truly, as I am living, and as all the earth will be full of 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 Because all these men, having seen my glory and the signs which I have done in Egypt and in the waste land, still have put me to the test ten times, and have not given ear 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 They will not see the land about which I made an oath to their fathers; not one of these by whom I have not been honoured will 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 he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage.
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 in the valley; tomorrow, turning round, go into the waste land 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 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
27 How long am I to put up with this evil people and their outcries against me? The words which they say against me have come to my ears.
“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 to them, By my life, says the Lord, as certainly as your words have come to my ears, so certainly will I do this to you:
So now tell them this: ‘Just as certainly as I, Yahweh, live, I will do exactly what you said would happen.
29 Your dead bodies will be stretched out in this waste land; and of all your number, all those of twenty years old and over who have been crying out 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 Not one will come into the land which I gave my word you would have for your resting-place, but only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, 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 And your little ones, whom you said would come into strange hands, I will take in, and they will see the land which you would not have.
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 dead bodies will be stretched in this waste land.
But as for you [adults], you will die here in this desert.
33 And your children will be wanderers in the waste land for forty years, undergoing punishment for your false ways, till your bodies become dust in the waste land.
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 And as you went through the land viewing it for forty days, so for forty years, a year for every day, you will undergo punishment for your wrongdoing, and you will see that I am against you.
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 said it, and this I will certainly do to all this evil people who have come together against me: in this waste land destruction will come on them, and death will be their fate.
[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 sent to see the land, and who, by the bad account they gave of the land, were the cause of the outcry the people made against Moses,
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 Those same men who said evil of the land, came to their death by disease 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 Jephunneh, of those who went to see the land, were not touched by disease.
Of the twelve men who had explored Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.
39 And when Moses put these words before the children of Israel, the people were full of grief.
When Moses/I reported to the Israeli people what Yahweh had said, many of them were very sad.
40 And early in the morning they got up and went to the top of the mountain, saying, We are here and we will go up to the place which the Lord said he would give us: for we have done wrong.
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, Why are you now acting against the Lord's order, seeing that no good will come of it?
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 Go not up, for the Lord is not with you, and you will be overcome by those who are fighting against you.
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 you will be put to death by their swords: because you have gone back from the way of the Lord, the Lord 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 But they gave no attention to his words and went to the top of the mountain, though Moses and the ark of the Lord's agreement did not go out of the tent-circle.
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 the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites who were living in the hill-country, and overcame them completely, driving them back as far as 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.
