Study Desk

Then all the congregation raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night.

And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness!

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!

"So why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"

And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

So they said to one another, "Let's appoint a leader and return to Egypt!"

And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;

And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:

and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.

And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.

"If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey.

If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.

"Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection is gone from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them."

Only rebel not ye against the Lord , neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.

But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people be disrespectful to Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst?

And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

"I will strike them with plague and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they."

I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

But Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people up from their midst,

And Moses said unto the Lord , Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)

and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are in the midst of this people, because You, LORD, are seen eye to eye, while 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.

And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

"Now if You put this people to death all at once, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,

Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,

'Since the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.'

Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

"So now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying,

And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

'The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.'

The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

"Please forgive the guilt of this people in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now."

Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

So the LORD said, "I have forgiven them in accordance with your word;

And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word:

however, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.

But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord .

"Certainly all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,

Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who were disrespectful to Me see it.

Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

"But as for My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.

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.

"Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea."

(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron again, saying,

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

"How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel which they are voicing against Me.

How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

"Say to them, 'As I live,' declares the LORD, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you;

Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord , as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all your numbered men according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me.

Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me.

'By no means will you come into the land where I swore to settle you, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

'Your children, however, whom you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected.

But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.

'But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness.

But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.

'Also, your sons will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your bodies perish in the wilderness.

And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

'In accordance with the number of days that you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall suffer the punishment for your guilt a year, that is, forty years, and you will know My opposition.

After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

'I, the LORD, have spoken, I certainly will do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. They shall be worn out in this wilderness, and there they shall die.'"

I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and led all the congregation to grumble against him by bringing a bad report about the land,

And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,

those men who brought the bad report of the land also died by a plague in the presence of the LORD.

Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord .

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.

Now when Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly.

And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.

In the morning, however, they got up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, "Here we are; and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned."

And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned.

But Moses said, "Why then are you violating the command of the LORD, when doing so will not succeed?

And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord ? but it shall not prosper.

"Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.

Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.

"For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there to confront you, and you will fall by the sword, since you have turned back from following the LORD. And the LORD will not be with you."

For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord , therefore the Lord will not be with you.

But they foolishly dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.

But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord , and Moses, departed not out of the camp.

Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and scattered them as far as Hormah.

Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.