| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept. | 1Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. |
| 2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! | 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. |
| 3Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” | 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?” |
| 4So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” | 4Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!” |
| 5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel. | 5Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. |
| 6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes | 6Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. |
| 7and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land. | 7They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! |
| 8If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. | 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. |
| 9Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!” | 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!” |
| 10But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting. | 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. |
| 11And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them? | 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? |
| 12I will strike them with a plague and destroy them—and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are.” | 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 |
| 13But Moses said to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people from among them. | 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. |
| 14And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have already heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, that You, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that Your cloud stands over them, and that You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. | 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. |
| 15If You kill this people as one man, the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, | 15Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, |
| 16‘Because the LORD was unable to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ | 16‘The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’ |
| 17So now I pray, may the power of my Lord be magnified, just as You have declared: | 17“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, |
| 18‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ | 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.’ |
| 19Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.” | 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.” |
| 20“I have pardoned them as you requested,” the LORD replied. | 20Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested. |
| 21“Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD, | 21But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory, |
| 22not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times— | 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. |
| 23not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it. | 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. |
| 24But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit 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. |
| 25Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.” | 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 |
| 26Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, | 26Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 27“How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me. | 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. |
| 28So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. | 28Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. |
| 29Your bodies will fall in this wilderness—all who were numbered in the census, everyone twenty years of age or older—because you have grumbled against Me. | 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. |
| 30Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. | 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. |
| 31But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it. | 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. |
| 32As for you, however, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. | 32But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness. |
| 33Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the 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. |
| 34In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation. | 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.’ |
| 35I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this entire wicked congregation, which has conspired against Me. They will meet their end in the wilderness, and there they will die.” | 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!” |
| 36So the men Moses had sent to spy out the land, who had returned and made the whole congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report about the land— | 36The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the LORD with their bad report— |
| 37those men who had brought out the bad report about the land—were struck down by a plague before the LORD. | 37were struck dead with a plague before the LORD. |
| 38Of those men who had gone to spy out the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive. | 38Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive. |
| 39And when Moses relayed these words to all the Israelites, the people mourned bitterly. | 39When Moses reported the LORD’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. |
| 40Early the next morning they got up and went up toward the ridge of the hill country. “We have indeed sinned,” they said, “but we will go to the place the LORD has promised.” | 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.” |
| 41But Moses said, “Why are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD? This will not succeed! | 41But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the LORD’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. |
| 42Do not go up, lest you be struck down by your enemies, because the LORD is not among you. | 42Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you. |
| 43For there the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from the LORD, He will not be with 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.” |
| 44But they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of the LORD moved from the camp. | 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. |
| 45Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah. | 45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah. |
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