Numbers 14:21-45

New King James Version

²¹ but truly, as I live, ^(A)all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— ^22 (B)because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now ^(C)these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, ²³ they certainly shall not ^(D)see the land of which I ^[a]swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant ^(E)Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and ^(F)has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. ²⁵ Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and ^(G)move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”

Death Sentence on the Rebels

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ^27 (H)“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? ^(I)I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ^(J)‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: ²⁹ The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, ^(K)all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. ^30 (L)Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I ^[b]swore I would make you dwell in. ^31 (M)But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall ^[c]know the land which ^(N)you have despised. ³² But as for you, ^(O)your^[d] carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your sons shall ^(P)be ^[e]shepherds in the wilderness ^(Q)forty years, and ^(R)bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. ^34 (S)According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^(T)forty days, for each day you shall bear your ^[f]guilt one year, namely forty years, ^(U)and you shall know My ^[g]rejection. ^35 (V)I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all ^(W)this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ”

³⁶ Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, ³⁷ those very men who brought the evil report about the land, ^(X)died by the plague before the Lord. ^38 (Y)But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.

A Futile Invasion Attempt^(Z)

³⁹ Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, ^(AA)and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, ^(AB)“Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

⁴¹ And Moses said, “Now why do you ^[h]transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ^42 (AC)Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; ^(AD)because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

^44 (AE)But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as ^(AF)Hormah.