| New Living Translation | New International Version |
| 1Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. | 1That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. |
| 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. | 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! |
| 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?” | 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?" |
| 4Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!” | 4And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." |
| 5Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. | 5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. |
| 6Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. | 6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes |
| 7They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! | 7and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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!” | 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." |
| 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. | 10But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. |
| 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? | 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 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 | 12I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they." |
| 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. | 13Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. |
| 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. | 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 slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, | 15If 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 them into the land he swore to give them, so 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.' |
| 17“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, | 17"Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared: |
| 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.’ | 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.' |
| 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.” | 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 will pardon them as you have requested. | 20The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. |
| 21But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory, | 21Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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 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. | 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 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 | 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." |
| 26Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, | 26The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: |
| 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. | 27"How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. |
| 28Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. | 28So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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, you will drop dead in this wilderness. | 32But as for you, your bodies will fall in this 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. | 33Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. |
| 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.’ | 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! 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!” | 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." |
| 36The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the LORD with their bad report— | 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-- |
| 37were struck dead with a 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. |
| 38Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive. | 38Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. |
| 39When Moses reported the LORD’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. | 39When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. |
| 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.” | 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!" |
| 41But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the LORD’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. | 41But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed! |
| 42Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you. | 42Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, |
| 43When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The LORD will abandon you because you have abandoned the LORD.” | 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 the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant left 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 lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased 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. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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. |
|
