| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. | 1That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. |
| 2And all the children of Israel complained 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! | 2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! |
| 3Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” | 3Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" |
| 4So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” | 4And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." |
| 5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. | 5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. |
| 6But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; | 6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes |
| 7and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. | 7and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. |
| 8If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ | 8If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. |
| 9Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” | 9Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." |
| 10And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. | 10But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. |
| 11Then the LORD said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? | 11The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? |
| 12I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” | 12I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they." |
| 13And Moses said to the LORD: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, | 13Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. |
| 14and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. | 14And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. |
| 15Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, | 15If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, |
| 16‘Because the LORD was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’ | 16The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.' |
| 17And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, | 17"Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared: |
| 18‘The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ | 18The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.' |
| 19Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” | 19In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now." |
| 20Then the LORD said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; | 20The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. |
| 21but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD— | 21Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, |
| 22because 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 these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, | 22not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times-- |
| 23they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. | 23not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. |
| 24But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. | 24But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. |
| 25Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.” | 25Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea." |
| 26And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, | 26The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: |
| 27“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. | 27"How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. |
| 28Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: | 28So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: |
| 29The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. | 29In this wilderness your bodies will fall--every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. |
| 30Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. | 30Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. |
| 31But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. | 31As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. |
| 32But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. | 32But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. |
| 33And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. | 33Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. |
| 34According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. | 34For forty years--one year for each of the forty days you explored the land--you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' |
| 35I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ” | 35I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die." |
| 36Now 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, | 36So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it-- |
| 37those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the LORD. | 37these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. |
| 38But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land. | 38Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. |
| 39Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. | 39When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. |
| 40And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!” | 40Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, "Now we are ready to go up to the land the LORD promised. Surely we have sinned!" |
| 41And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. | 41But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed! |
| 42Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the LORD is not among you. | 42Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, |
| 43For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.” | 43for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword." |
| 44But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp. | 44Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's covenant moved from the camp. |
| 45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah. | 45Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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