New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.

1Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.

2Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.

2All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and 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!

3“Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”

3"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?"

4Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

4So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt."

5Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel.

5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

6Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.

6Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;

7They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land!

7and 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.

8And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.

8"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.

9Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

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

10But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle.

10But 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.

11And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?

11The LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?

12I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” Moses Intercedes for the People

12"I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they."

13But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the LORD. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.

13But Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst,

14Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

14and they will tell it to 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 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.

15Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say,

15"Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,

16‘The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’

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

17“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said,

17"But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared,

18‘The LORD is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’

18The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, 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 generations.'

19In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

19"Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now."

20Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.

20So the LORD said, "I have pardoned them according to your word;

21But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory,

21but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.

22not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.

22"Surely all the men 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,

23They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.

23shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.

24But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.

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

25Now turn around, and don’t go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea. ” The LORD Punishes the Israelites

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

26Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

26The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

27“How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me.

27"How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me.

28Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.

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

29You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die.

29your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me.

30You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

30'Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

31“‘You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised.

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

32But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness.

32'But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness.

33And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.

33Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness.

34“‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’

34According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition.

35I, the LORD, have spoken! I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness, and here they will die!”

35'I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.'"

36The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the LORD with their bad report—

36As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land,

37were struck dead with a plague before the LORD.

37even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD.

38Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.

38But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

39When Moses reported the LORD’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief.

39When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly.

40Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us.”

40In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, "Here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised."

41But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the LORD’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work.

41But Moses said, "Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD, when it will not succeed?

42Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you.

42"Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the LORD is not among you.

43When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The LORD will abandon you because you have abandoned the LORD.”

43"For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the LORD. And the LORD will not be with you."

44But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant left the camp.

44But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.

45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.

45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org