Numbers 14:1-23

New American Standard Bible

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation ^[a]raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept ^[b]that night. ²And all the sons of Israel ^(A)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “^(B)If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness! ³So why is the Lord bringing us into this land ^(C)to fall by the sword? ^(D)Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴So they said to one another, “^(E)Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”

⁵^(F)Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “^(G)The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸^(H)If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—^(I)a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹Only ^(J)do not rebel against the Lord; and do not ^(K)fear the people of the land, for they will be our ^[c]prey. Their ^[d]protection is gone from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ¹⁰^(L)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then ^(M)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

¹¹^(N)And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people be disrespectful to Me? And how long will ^(O)they not ^[e]believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? ¹²I will strike them with ^[f]^(P)plague and dispossess them, and I ^(Q)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³^(R)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, ¹⁴and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are in the midst of this people, because ^(S)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. ¹⁵Now if You put this people to death ^[g]all at once, ^(T)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will ^[h]say, ¹⁶‘Since the Lord ^(U)could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷So now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying, ¹⁸‘^(V)The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but ^(W)He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, ^(X)inflicting the ^[i]punishment of the fathers on the children ^[j]to the third and the fourth generations.’ ¹⁹Please ^(Y)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.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

²⁰So the Lord said, “^(Z)I have forgiven them in accordance with your word; ²¹however, ^(AA)as I live, ^[k]^(AB)all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. ²²Certainly ^(AC)all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet ^(AD)have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ²³^(AE)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.