1That night all the members of the community raised their voices. They wept out loud.2The Israelites spoke against Moses and Aaron. The whole community said to them, ‘We wish we had died in Egypt or even in this desert.3Why is the LORD bringing us to this land? We’re going to be killed by swords. Our enemies will capture our wives and children. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?’4They said to one another, ‘We should choose another leader. We should go back to Egypt.’5Then Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground. They did it in front of the whole community of Israel gathered there.6Joshua, the son of Nun, tore his clothes. So did Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Joshua and Caleb were two of the men who had checked out the land.7They spoke to the whole community of Israel. They said, ‘We passed through the land and checked it out. It’s very good.8If the LORD is pleased with us, he’ll lead us into that land. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. He’ll give it to us.9But don’t refuse to obey him. And don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will swallow them up. The LORD is with us. So nothing can save them. Don’t be afraid of them.’10But all the people talked about killing Joshua and Caleb by throwing stones at them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting. All the Israelites saw it.11The LORD said to Moses, ‘How long will these people not respect me? How long will they refuse to believe in me? They refuse even though I have done many signs among them.12So I will strike them down with a plague. I will destroy them. But I will make you into a greater and stronger nation than they are.’13Moses said to the LORD, ‘Then the Egyptians will hear about it. You used your power to bring these people up from among them.14And the Egyptians will tell the people who live in Canaan about it. LORD, they have already heard a lot about you. They’ve heard that you are with these people. They’ve heard that you have been seen face to face. They’ve been told that your cloud stays over them. They’ve heard that you go in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day. They’ve been told that you go in front of them in a pillar of fire at night.15Suppose you put all these people to death and leave none alive. Then the nations who have heard these things about you will talk. They’ll say,16“The LORD promised to give these people the land of Canaan. But he wasn’t able to bring them into it. So he killed them in the desert.”17‘Now, Lord, show your strength. You have said,18“I am the LORD. I am slow to get angry. I am full of love. I forgive those who sin. I forgive those who refuse to obey. But I do not let guilty people go without punishing them. I cause the sin of the parents to affect their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”19LORD, your love is great. So forgive the sin of these people. Forgive them just as you have done from the time they left Egypt until now.’20The LORD replied, ‘I have forgiven them, just as you asked.21You can be sure that I live. You can be just as sure that my glory fills the whole earth.22And here is what you can be just as sure of. Not one of these people will see the land I promised to give them. They have seen my glory. They have seen the signs I did in Egypt. And they have seen what I did in the desert. But they did not obey me. And they have tested me ten times.23So not even one of them will ever see the land I promised to give to their people of long ago. The person who has not respected me will never see it.24But my servant Caleb has a different spirit. He follows me with his whole heart. So I will bring him into the land he went to. And his children after him will receive land there.25The Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys. So turn back tomorrow. Start out towards the desert. Go along the way that leads to the Red Sea.’26The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,27‘How long will this evil community speak against me? I have heard these Israelites talk about how unhappy they are.28So tell them, “Here is what I am announcing. I am the LORD. You can be sure that I live. And here is what you can be just as sure of. I will do to you the very thing that I heard you say.29You will die in this desert. Every one of you 20 years old or more will die. Every one of you who was counted in the list of the people will die. Every one of you who has spoken out against me will be wiped out.30I lifted up my hand and promised to make this land your home. But now not all of you will enter the land. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, will enter it. So will Joshua, the son of Nun. They are the only ones who will enter the land.31You have said that your enemies would capture your children. But I will bring your children in to enjoy the land you have turned your backs on.32As for you, you will die in the desert.33Your children will be shepherds here for 40 years. They will suffer because you were not faithful. They will suffer until the last of your bodies lies here in the desert.34For 40 years you will suffer for your sins. That is one year for each of the 40 days you checked out the land. You will know what it is like to have me against you.”35I, the LORD, have spoken. I will surely do these things to this entire evil community of Israel. They have joined together against me. They will meet their end in this desert. They will die here.’36So the LORD struck down the men Moses had sent to check out the land. They had returned and had spread a bad report about the land. And that had made the whole community speak out against Moses.37Those men were to blame for spreading the bad report. So the LORD struck them down. They died of a plague.38Only two of the men who went to check out the land remained alive. One of them was Joshua, the son of Nun. The other was Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.39Moses reported to all the Israelites what the LORD had said. And they became very sad.40Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country. ‘We have sinned,’ they said. ‘Now we are ready to go up to the land the LORD promised to give us.’41But Moses said, ‘Why aren’t you obeying the LORD’s command? You won’t succeed.42So don’t go up. The LORD isn’t with you. Your enemies will win the battle over you.43The Amalekites and the Canaanites will meet you on the field of battle. You have turned away from the LORD. So he won’t be with you. And you will be killed by swords.’44But they wouldn’t listen. They still went up towards the highest point in the hill country. They went up even though Moses didn’t move from the camp. They went even though the ark of the LORD’s covenant didn’t move from the camp.45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down. They attacked the Israelites. They won the battle over them. They chased the Israelites all the way to Hormah.
Numbers 14
English Standard Version
The People Rebel
1Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. (Nu 11:4)2And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! (Ex 15:24; Ex 16:2; Ex 17:3; Nu 14:27; Nu 14:29; Nu 14:33; Nu 16:41; Jos 9:18; Ps 106:25)3Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Nu 14:31)4And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” (De 17:16; Ne 9:17; Ac 7:39)5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. (Nu 16:4; Nu 16:22; Nu 20:6)6And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes (Nu 13:6; Nu 13:8; Nu 14:30)7and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. (Nu 13:27; De 1:25)8If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. (Ex 3:8; De 10:15; 2Sa 22:20; 1Ki 10:9; Ps 18:19; Ps 22:8; Isa 62:4)9Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” (Nu 24:8; De 7:18; De 20:3; Jos 22:16; Jos 22:18; Jos 22:29; Ps 14:4; Ps 74:14)10Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. (Ex 17:4; Le 9:23)11And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? (Nu 14:23; Nu 16:30; De 1:32; De 9:23; Ps 78:22; Ps 78:32; Ps 106:24; Joh 12:37; Heb 3:18)12I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” (Ex 32:10)
Moses Intercedes for the People
13But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, (Ex 32:12; De 9:28; De 32:27; Ps 106:23; Eze 20:9; Eze 20:14)14and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. (Ex 13:21; Ex 15:14; Jos 2:9; Jos 5:1)15Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say,16‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ (De 9:28; Jos 7:9)17And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying,18‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ (Ex 20:5; Ex 34:6)19Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” (Ex 34:9; Ps 78:38; Ps 106:45)
God Promises Judgment
20Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. (Ps 106:23; Jas 5:16; 1Jo 5:14)21But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, (Ps 72:19; Hab 2:14)22none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, (Ge 31:7; De 1:35; Job 19:3; Ps 95:11; Ps 106:26; Heb 3:17)23shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. (Nu 26:64; Nu 32:11; Eze 20:15)24But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. (Nu 13:6; Nu 14:6; Nu 32:12; Jos 14:8)25Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” (Nu 13:29; Nu 14:43; Nu 14:45; De 1:40)26And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,27“How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. (Ex 16:7; Ex 16:12; Nu 14:35)28Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: (Nu 14:2; Nu 14:21; Nu 14:23; Nu 26:65)29your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, (Ex 30:14; Nu 1:3; Nu 1:45; Nu 26:64; De 1:35; 1Co 10:5; Heb 3:17)30not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. (Ge 14:22; Nu 13:6; Nu 14:6; Nu 14:38)31But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. (Nu 14:3; De 1:39; Ps 106:24)32But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. (Nu 14:29)33And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. (Nu 32:13; De 2:14; Ps 95:10; Ps 107:40; Eze 23:35)34According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ (Nu 13:25; Eze 4:6)35I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.” (Nu 14:27; Nu 23:19)36And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— (Nu 13:32)37the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the Lord. (1Co 10:10; Heb 3:17; Jud 1:5)38Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive. (Nu 13:16; Nu 26:65)
Israel Defeated in Battle
39When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly. (Ex 33:4)40And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” (De 1:41)41But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? (2Ch 24:20)42Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. (De 1:42; De 31:17)43For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” (Nu 13:29; Nu 14:25; Nu 14:45)44But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. (De 1:43; 1Sa 4:3)45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah. (Nu 14:43; Nu 21:3; De 1:44; Jud 1:17)