Numbers 14

1 That night all the community wept loudly.

And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried; and the people wept all 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 children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron; and all the congregation said to them,

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?”

Would we had died in the land of Egypt! or in this wilderness, would we had died! and why does the Lord bring us into this land to fall in war? our wives and our children shall be for a prey: now then it is better to return into 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 make a ruler, and return into Egypt.

5 Then Moses and Aaron lay facedown before all the assembly of the community of the people of Israel.

And Moses and Aaron fell upon their face before all 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.

But Joshua the [son] of Naue, and Chaleb the [son] of Jephonne, of [the number of] them that 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 spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we surveyed is indeed extremely 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 choose us, he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which flows 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 depart not from the Lord; and fear ye not the people of the land, for they are meat for us; for the season [of prosperity] is departed from them, but the Lord [is] among 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.

And all the congregation bade stone them with stones; and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud on the tabernacle of witness to 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 to Moses, How long does this people provoke me? and how long do they refuse to believe me for all the signs which I have wrought among 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 death, and destroy them; and I will make of thee and of thy father's house a great nation, and much greater than this.

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 to the Lord, So Egypt shall hear, for thou hast brought up this people from them by thy might.

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.

Moreover all the dwellers upon this land have heard that thou art Lord in the midst of this people, who, O Lord, art seen [by them] face to face, and thy cloud rests upon them, and thou goest before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire.

15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations that have heard of your fame will speak and say,

And [if] thou shalt destroy this nation as one man; then all the nations that have heard thy name shall speak, saying,

16 'Because Yahweh could not take this people into the land that he swore to give them, he has killed them in the wilderness.'

Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which he sware to them, he has overthrown them in the wilderness.

17 Now, I beg you, use your great power. For you have said,

And now, O Lord, let thy strength be exalted, as thou spakest, 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 Lord [is] long-suffering and merciful, and true, removing transgressions and iniquities and sins, and he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and 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.”

Forgive this people their sin according to thy great mercy, as thou wast favourable to them from Egypt until now.

20 Yahweh said, “I have pardoned them in keeping with your request,

And the Lord said to Moses, I am gracious to them according to thy word.

21 but truly, as I live, and as all the earth will be filled with my glory,

But [as] I live and my name is living, so the glory of the Lord shall fill all the earth.

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.

For all the men who see my glory, and the signs which I wrought in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me this tenth time, 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,

surely they shall not see the land, which I sware to their fathers; but their children which are with me here, as many as know not good or evil, every inexperienced youth, to them will I give the land; but none who have provoked me shall 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 Chaleb, because there was another spirit in him, and he followed me, I will bring him into the land into which he entered, and his seed shall inherit 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.”

But Amalec and the Chananite dwell in the valley: to-morrow turn and depart for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

26 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses and 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 I endure] this wicked congregation? I have heard their murmurings against me, [even] the murmuring of the children of Israel, which they have murmured concerning you.

28 Say to them, 'As I live,' says Yahweh, 'as you have spoken in my hearing, I will do this to you:

Say to them, [As] I live, saith the Lord: surely as ye spoke into 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.

Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all those of you that were reviewed, and those of you that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, all that 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.

ye shall not enter into the land for which I stretched out my hand to establish you upon it; except only Chaleb the son of Jephonne, and Joshua the [son] of Naue.

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!

And your little ones, who ye said should be a prey, them will I bring into the land; and they shall inherit the land, which ye rejected.

32 As for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness.

And your carcases 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 sons shall be fed in the wilderness forty years, and they shall bear your fornication, until your carcases be consumed 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.

According to the number of the days during which ye spied the land, forty days, a day for a year, ye shall bear your sins forty years, and ye shall know my fierce anger.

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, Surely will I do thus to this evil congregation that has risen up together against me: in this wilderness they shall be utterly consumed, and there they shall 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 sent to spy out the land, and who came and murmured against it to the assembly so as to bring out evil words concerning 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.

the men that spoke evil reports against the land, even died of 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.

And Joshua the son of Naue and Chaleb the son of Jephonne [still] lived of those men that went 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 to all the children of Israel; and the people mourned exceedingly.

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 early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, Behold, we that are here will go up to the place of which the Lord has spoken, because we have sinned.

41 But Moses said, “Why are you now violating Yahweh's command? You will not succeed.

And Moses said, Why do ye transgress the word of the Lord? ye shall not prosper.

42 Do not go, because Yahweh is not with you to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.

Go not up, for the Lord is not with you; so shall ye fall before the face of 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 Amalec and the Chananite [are] there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword; because ye have disobeyed the Lord and turned aside, and the Lord will not be among 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.

And having forced their passage, they went up to the top of the mountain; but the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses stirred not 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.

And Amalec and the Chananite that dwelt in that mountain came down, and routed them, and destroyed them unto Herman; and they returned to the camp.