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14 And Kol HaEdah lifted up their voice, and cried; and HaAm wept that night.

And Kol Bnei Yisroel murmured against Moshe and against Aharon: and the Kol HaEdah said unto them, If only we had died in Eretz Mitzrayim! Or if only we had died in this midbar!

And why hath Hashem brought us unto this land, to fall by the cherev, that nasheinu (our wives) and our children should be as plunder? Were it not better for us to go back unto Mitzrayim?

And they said one to another, Let us make a Rosh (Leader), and let us go back unto Mitzrayim.

Then Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before Kol Kehal Adat Bnei Yisroel.

And Yehoshua ben Nun, and Kalev ben Yephunneh, which were of them that explored HaAretz, tore their clothes:

And they spoke unto Kol Adat Bnei Yisroel, saying, HaAretz, which we passed through to explore it, is a tovah haaretz me’od me’od.

If Hashem delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land zavat cholov udevash.

Only rebel not ye against Hashem, neither fear ye the Am HaAretz; for they are lachmeinu (our bread): their protection is departed from them, and Hashem is with us: fear them not.

10 But Kol HaEdah talked of stoning them with avanim. And the Kavod Hashem appeared in the Ohel Mo’ed before Kol Bnei Yisroel.

11 And Hashem said unto Moshe, How long will this people treat Me with contempt? And how long will it be until they believe in Me, for all the otot which I have performed among them?

12 I will strike them down with dever (pestilence), and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

13 And Moshe said unto Hashem, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy ko’ach [might] from among them;)

14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land; for they have heard that Thou Hashem art among this people, that Thou Hashem art seen eye to eye, and that Thy Anan standeth over them, and that Thou goest before them, by day in an Ammud Anan, and in an Ammud Eish by night.

15 Now if Thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the Goyim which have heard the fame of Thee will speak, saying,

16 Because Hashem was not able to bring this people into HaAretz which He promised them by oath, therefore He hath slaughtered (shachat) them in the midbar.

17 And now, I beseech thee, let the Ko’ach Adonoi be great, according as Thou hast spoken, saying,

18 Hashem is slow of anger, and of rav chesed, forgiving avon and peysha, and by no means exonerating the guilty, visiting the avon of the avot upon the banim unto the third and fourth generation.

19 Selach (forgive!), I beseech thee, the avon of this people according unto the greatness of Thy chesed, just as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Mitzrayim even until now.

20 And Hashem said, I have pardoned according to thy word [of petition]:

21 But as surely as I live, Kol HaAretz (all the Earth) shall be filled with the Kavod Hashem.

22 Because all those men which have seen My kavod, and My otot (miraculous signs), which I performed in Mitzrayim and in the midbar, and have tested Me now these ten times, and have not paid heed to My voice;

23 Surely they shall not see HaAretz which I swore unto their avot, neither shall any of them that treated Me with contempt see it:

24 But Avdi Kalev, because he hath a ruach acheret in him, and hath followed after Me fully, him will I bring into HaAretz whereinto he went; and his zera shall inherit it.

25 (Now the Amaleki and the Kena’ani dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn and get you into the midbar by the way of the Yam Suph.

26 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and unto Aharon, saying,

27 How long shall I bear with this Edah Hara’ah, which murmur against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the Bnei Yisroel, which they murmur against Me.

28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith Hashem, as ye have spoken in Mine ears, so will I do to you:

29 Your corpses shall fall in this midbar; and all that were numbered of you, according to your entire mispar (number, census), from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against Me.

30 Not one of you shall come into HaAretz, concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, except for Kalev ben Yephunneh, and Yehoshua ben Nun.

31 But your little ones, which ye said would be plunder, them will I bring in, and they shall know HaAretz which ye have rejected.

32 But as for you, your corpses, they shall fall in this midbar.

33 And your banim shall wander [wandering ro’im] in the midbar arba’im shanah, and bear [the penalty of] your whoredoms [zenut, spiritual disloyalty and rebellion], until the last of your corpses lies in the midbar.

34 After the number of the days in which ye explored HaAretz, even arba’im, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even arba’im shanah, and ye shall know My Tenu’a (Opposition).

35 I, Hashem, have spoken, I will surely do it unto this Kol HaEdah, that are gathered together against Me: in this midbar they shall come to an end, and there they shall die.

36 And the anashim, which Moshe sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made Kol HaEdah to murmur against him, the ones spreading a dibbah (bad report, slander) about HaAretz,

37 Even those anashim that did bring up the evil report of HaAretz, died by the maggefah before Hashem.

38 But Yehoshua ben Nun, and Kalev ben Yephunneh survived of the anashim that went to explore HaAretz.

39 And Moshe told these sayings unto Kol Bnei Yisroel: and HaAm mourned greatly.

40 And they rose up early in the boker, and went up into the height of the hill country, saying, Behold, we are here, and will go up unto the place which Hashem hath promised: for we have sinned.

41 And Moshe said, Why now do ye transgress the utterance of Hashem? This will not succeed.

42 Go not up, for Hashem is not among you; that ye be not struck down before your enemies.

43 For the Amaleki and the Kena’ani are there before you, and ye shall fall by the cherev: because ye are turned away from Hashem, therefore Hashem will not be with you.

44 But they presumed to go up unto the ridge of the mountain: nevertheless the Aron Brit Hashem, and Moshe, departed not out of the machaneh.

45 Then the Amaleki came down, and the Kena’ani which dwelt in that hill country, and struck them down, and put them to rout, even unto Chormah.

The People Rebel

14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.(A) All the Israelites grumbled(B) against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!(C) Or in this wilderness!(D) Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?(E) Our wives and children(F) will be taken as plunder.(G) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?(H) And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.(I)

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown(J) in front of the whole Israelite assembly(K) gathered there. Joshua son of Nun(L) and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes(M) and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.(N) If the Lord is pleased with us,(O) he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey,(P) and will give it to us.(Q) Only do not rebel(R) against the Lord. And do not be afraid(S) of the people of the land,(T) because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with(U) us.(V) Do not be afraid of them.”(W)

10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning(X) them. Then the glory of the Lord(Y) appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt?(Z) How long will they refuse to believe in me,(AA) in spite of all the signs(AB) I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague(AC) and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation(AD) greater and stronger than they.”(AE)

13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.(AF) 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard(AG) that you, Lord, are with these people(AH) and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face,(AI) that your cloud stays over them,(AJ) and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.(AK) 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath,(AL) so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’(AM)

17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.(AN) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’(AO) 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive(AP) the sin of these people,(AQ) just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”(AR)

20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them,(AS) as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live(AT) and as surely as the glory of the Lord(AU) fills the whole earth,(AV) 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs(AW) I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times(AX) 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath(AY) to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt(AZ) will ever see it.(BA) 24 But because my servant Caleb(BB) has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly,(BC) I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.(BD) 25 Since the Amalekites(BE) and the Canaanites(BF) are living in the valleys, turn(BG) back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a](BH)

26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.(BI) 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,(BJ) declares the Lord, I will do to you(BK) the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall(BL)—every one of you twenty years old or more(BM) who was counted in the census(BN) and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land(BO) I swore with uplifted hand(BP) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh(BQ) and Joshua son of Nun.(BR) 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.(BS) 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall(BT) in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years,(BU) suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years(BV)—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land(BW)—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things(BX) to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.(BY)

36 So the men Moses had sent(BZ) to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble(CA) against him by spreading a bad report(CB) about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report(CC) about the land were struck down and died of a plague(CD) before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land,(CE) only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.(CF)

39 When Moses reported this(CG) to all the Israelites, they mourned(CH) bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country,(CI) saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!(CJ)

41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed!(CK) 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,(CL) 43 for the Amalekites(CM) and the Canaanites(CN) will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you(CO) and you will fall by the sword.”

44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up(CP) toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp.(CQ) 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites(CR) who lived in that hill country(CS) came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.(CT)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 14:25 Or the Sea of Reeds