Numbers 14

1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness!3 And wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of them that spied out the land, rent their clothes:7 and they spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land.8 If Jehovah delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it unto us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.9 Only rebel not against Jehovah, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is removed from over them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not.10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of Jehovah appeared in the tent of meeting unto all the children of Israel.

11 And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them?12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.

13 And Moses said unto Jehovah, Then the Egyptians will hear it; for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that thou Jehovah art in the midst of this people; for thou Jehovah art seen face to face, and thy cloud standeth over them, and thou goest before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.15 Now if thou shalt kill this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,16 Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.17 And now, I pray thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,18 Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; and that 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 pray thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy lovingkindness, and according as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

20 And Jehovah said, I have pardoned according to thy word:21 but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah;22 because all those men that have seen my glory, and my signs, which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;23 surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that despised me see it:24 but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.25 Now the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley: to-morrow turn ye, and get you into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.

26 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, that murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.28 Say unto them, As I live, saith Jehovah, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me,30 surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.31 But your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have rejected.32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.33 And your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your whoredoms, until your dead bodies be consumed in the wilderness.34 After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land, even forty days, for every day a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my alienation.35 I, Jehovah, have spoken, surely this will I do unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

36 And the men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land,37 even those men that did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before Jehovah.38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men that went to spy out the land.

39 And Moses told these words unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.40 And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up to the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we are here, and will go up unto the place which Jehovah hath promised: for we have sinned.41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah, seeing it shall not prosper?42 Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten down before your enemies.43 For there the Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned back from following Jehovah, therefore Jehovah will not be with you.44 But they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.45 Then the Amalekite came down, and the Canaanite who dwelt in that mountain, and smote them and beat them down, even unto Hormah.

Numbers 14

The people rebel and are punished

The Israelites rebel against Moses

1 After the Israelites heard the report from the twelve men who had explored Canaan, the people cried all night 2 and complained to Moses and Aaron, “We wish we had died in Egypt or somewhere out here in the desert! 3 Is the Lord leading us into Canaan, just to have us killed and our women and children captured? We'd be better off in Egypt.”

4 Then they said to one another, “Let's choose our own leader and go back.”
5 Moses and Aaron bowed down to pray in front of the crowd. 6 Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes in sorrow

7 and said:
We saw the land ourselves, and it's very good. 8 If we obey the Lord, he will surely give us that land rich with milk and honey.

9 So don't rebel. We have no reason to be afraid of the people who live there. The Lord is on our side, and they won't stand a chance against us!t

10 The crowd threatened to stone Moses and Aaron to death. But just then, the Lord appeared in a cloud at the sacred tent.

Moses prays for the people

12 So they will no longer be my people. I will destroy them, but I will make you the ancestor of a nation even stronger than theirs.”

13-16 Moses replied:t
With your mighty power you rescued your people from Egypt, so please don't destroy us here in the desert. If you do, the Egyptians will hear about it and tell the people of Canaan. Those Canaanites already know that we are your people, and that we see you face to face. And they have heard how you lead us with a thick cloud during the day and flaming fire at night. But if you kill us, they will claim it was because you weren't powerful enough to lead us into Canaan as you promised.
17 Show us your great power, Lord. You promised

18 that you love to show mercy and kindness. And you said that you are very patient, but that you will punish everyone guilty of doing wrong—not only them but their children and grandchildren as well.t

19 You are merciful, and you treat people better than they deserve. So please forgive these people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.

20 Then the Lord said to Moses:
In answer to your prayer, I do forgive them. 21 But as surely as I live and my power has no limit,t

22-23 I swear that not one of these Israelites will enter the land I promised to give their ancestors. These people have seen my power in Egypt and in the desert, but they will never see Canaan. They have disobeyed and tested me too many times.

24 But my servant Caleb isn't like the others. So because he has faith in me, I will allow him to cross into Canaan, and his descendants will settle there.t

25 Now listen, Moses! The Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys of Canaan.t And tomorrow morning, you'll need to turn round and head back into the desert towards the Red Sea.t

The Israelites are punished for complaining

27-28 to give this message to the people of Israel:
You sinful people have complained against me too many times! Now I swear by my own life that I will give you exactly what you wanted.t 29 You will die here in the desert, and your dead bodies will cover the ground. You have insulted me, and none of you men who are over twenty years oldt

30 will enter the land that I solemnly promised to give you as your own—only Caleb and Joshuat will go in.
31 You were worried that your own children would be captured. But I, the Lord, will let them enter the land you have rejected. 32 You will die here in the desert! 33 Your children will wander around in this desert forty years, suffering because of your sins, until all of you are dead.t 34 I will cruelly punish you every day for the next forty years—one year for each day that the land was explored.

35 You sinful people who ganged up against me will die here in the desert.
36 Ten of the men sent to explore the land had brought back bad news and had made the people complain against the Lord. 37 So he sent a deadly disease that killed those men,

38 but he let Joshua and Caleb live.

The Israelites fail to enter Canaan

(Deuteronomy 1.41-45)

40 So they got up early the next morning and got ready to head towards the hill country of Canaan. They said, “We were wrong to complain about the Lord. Let's go into the land that he promised us.”
41 But Moses replied, “You're disobeying the Lord! Your plan won't work,

42-43 so don't even try it. The Lord refuses to help you, because you turned your backs on him. The Amalekites and the Canaanites are your enemies, and they will attack and defeat you.”
44 But the Israelites ignored Mosest and marched towards the hill country, even though the sacred chest and Moses did not go with them. 45 The Amalekites and the Canaanites came down from the hill country, defeated the Israelites, and chased them as far as the town of Hormah.