1 Then all ye Congregation lifted vp their voice, and cryed: and the people wept that night, 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron: and the whole assemblie said vnto them, Would God we had died in the land of Egypt, or in this wildernesse: would God we were dead. 3 Wherefore nowe hath the Lord brought vs into this lande to fall vpon the sworde? our wiues, and our children shall be a pray: were it not better for vs to returne into Egypt? 4 And they said one to another, Let vs make a Captaine and returne into Egypt. 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assemblie of the Congregation of the children of Israel. 6 And Ioshua the sonne of Nun, and Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh two of them that searched the lande, rent their clothes, 7 And spake vnto all the assemblie of the childre of Israel, saying, The land which we walked through to search it, is a very good lande. 8 If the Lord loue vs, he will bring vs into this land, and giue it vs, which is a land that floweth with milke and honie. 9 But rebell not ye against the Lord, neither feare ye the people of the land: for they are but bread for vs: their shielde is departed from the, and the Lord is with vs, feare them not. 10 And all the multitude saide, Stone them with stones: but the glory of the Lord appeared in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, before all the children of Israel. 11 And the Lord said vnto Moses, How long will this people prouoke me, and howe long will it be, yer they beleeue me, for al the signes which I haue shewed among them? 12 I will smite them with the pestilence and destroy them, and will make thee a greater nation and mightier then they. 13 But Moses saide vnto the Lord, When the Egyptians shall heare it, (for thou broughtest this people by thy power from among them) 14 Then they shall say to the inhabitants of this land, (for they haue heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, and that thou, Lord, art seene face to face, and that thy cloude standeth ouer them, and that thou goest before them by day time in a pillar of a cloude, and in a pillar of fire by night) 15 That thou wilt kill this people as one man: so the heathen which haue heard the fame of thee, shall thus say, 16 Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the lande, which he sware vnto them, therefore hath he slaine them in the wildernesse. 17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 18 The Lord is slowe to anger, and of great mercie, and forgiuing iniquitie, and sinne, but not making the wicked innocent, and visiting the wickednes of the fathers vpon the children, in the thirde and fourth generation: 19 Be mercifull, I beseech thee, vnto the iniquitie of this people, according to thy great mercie, and as thou hast forgiuen this people from Egypt, euen vntill nowe. 20 And the Lord said, I haue forgiuen it, according to thy request. 21 Notwithstanding, as I liue, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. 22 For all those men which haue seene my glory, and my miracles which I did in Egypt, and in the wildernes, and haue tempted me this ten times, and haue not obeyed my voyce, 23 Certainely they shall not see the lande, whereof I sware vnto their fathers: neither shall any that prouoke me, see it. 24 But my seruant Caleb, because he had another spirite, and hath followed me stil, euen him will I bring into the lande, whither he went, and his seede shall inherite it. 25 Nowe the Amalekites and the Canaanites remaine in the valley: wherefore turne backe to morowe, and get you into the wildernesse, by the way of the red Sea. 26 After, the Lord spake vnto Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 How long shall I suffer this wicked multitude to murmure against me? I haue heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmure against me. 28 Tell them, As I liue (saith the Lord) I wil surely do vnto you, euen as ye haue spoken in mine eares. 29 Your carkeises shall fall in this wildernes, and all you that were counted through all your nombers, from twentie yeere olde and aboue, which haue murmured against me, 30 Ye shall not doubtles come into the land, for the which I lifted vp mine hande, to make you dwell therein, saue Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh, and Ioshua the sonne of Nun. 31 But your children, (which ye said shoulde be a pray) them will I bring in, and they shall knowe the lande which ye haue refused: 32 But euen your carkeises shall fall in this wildernes, 33 And your children shall wander in the wildernesse, fourtie yeeres, and shall beare your whoredomes, vntill your carkeises be wasted in the wildernesse. 34 After the number of the dayes, in the which ye searched out the lande, euen fourtie dayes, euery day for a yeere, shall ye beare your iniquity, for fourtie yeeres, and ye shall feele my breach of promise. 35 I the Lord haue said, Certainely I will doe so to all this wicked company, that are gathered together against me: for in this wildernesse they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. 36 And the men which Moses had sent to search the land (which, when they came againe, made all the people to murmure against him, and brought vp a slander vpon the lande) 37 Euen those men that did bring vp that vile slander vpon the land, shall die by a plague before the Lord. 38 But Ioshua the sonne of Nun, and Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh, of those men that went to search the land, shall liue. 39 Then Moses tolde these sayings vnto all the children of Israel, and the people sorowed greatly. 40 And they rose vp earely in the morning, and gate them vp into the toppe of the mountaine, saying, Loe, we be readie, to goe vp to the place which the Lord hath promised: for wee haue sinned. 41 But Moses said, Wherefore transgresse yee thus the commandement of the Lord? it will not so come well to passe. 42 Goe not vp (for the Lord is not among you) lest ye be ouerthrowe before your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sworde: for in as much as ye are turned away from the Lord, the Lord also will not be with you. 44 Yet they presumed obstinately to goe vp to the top of the mountaine: but the Arke of the couenant of the Lord, and Moses departed not out of the campe. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites, which dwelt in that mountaine, came downe and smote them, and consumed them vnto Hormah.
The People Complain
1 All night long the people cried out in distress. 2 They complained against Moses and Aaron, and said, “It would have been better to die in Egypt or even here in the wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord taking us into that land? We will be killed in battle, and our wives and children will be captured. Wouldn't it be better to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let's choose a leader and go back to Egypt!”
5 Then Moses and Aaron bowed to the ground in front of all the people. 6 And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of the spies, tore their clothes in sorrow 7 and said to the people, “The land we explored is an excellent land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will take us there and give us that rich and fertile land. 9 Do not rebel against the Lord and don't be afraid of the people who live there. We will conquer them easily. The Lord is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them; so don't be afraid.” 10 The whole community was threatening to stone them to death, but suddenly the people saw the dazzling light of the Lord's presence appear over the Tent.
Moses Prays for the People
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How much longer will these people reject me? How much longer will they refuse to trust in me, even though I have performed so many miracles among them? 12 I will send an epidemic and destroy them, but I will make you the father of a nation that is larger and more powerful than they are!”
13 But Moses said to the Lord, “You brought these people out of Egypt by your power. When the Egyptians hear what you have done to your people, 14 they will tell it to the people who live in this land. These people have already heard that you, Lord, are with us, that you appear in plain sight when your cloud stops over us, and that you go before us in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill all your people, the nations who have heard of your fame will say 16 that you killed your people in the wilderness because you were not able to bring them into the land you promised to give them. 17 So now, Lord, I pray, show us your power and do what you promised when you said, 18 ‘I, the Lord, am not easily angered, and I show great love and faithfulness and forgive sin and rebellion. Yet I will not fail to punish children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for the sins of their parents.’ 19 And now, Lord, according to the greatness of your unchanging love, forgive, I pray, the sin of these people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”
20 The Lord answered, “I will forgive them, as you have asked. 21 But I promise that as surely as I live and as surely as my presence fills the earth, 22 none of these people will live to enter that land. They have seen the dazzling light of my presence and the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, but they have tried my patience over and over again and have refused to obey me. 23 They will never enter the land which I promised to their ancestors. None of those who have rejected me will ever enter it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different attitude and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land which he explored, and his descendants will possess the land 25 in whose valleys the Amalekites and the Canaanites now live. Turn back tomorrow and go into the wilderness in the direction of the Gulf of Aqaba.”
The Lord Punishes the People for Complaining
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 27 “How much longer are these wicked people going to complain against me? I have heard enough of these complaints! 28 Now give them this answer: ‘I swear that as surely as I live, I will do to you just what you have asked. I, the Lord, have spoken. 29 You will die and your corpses will be scattered across this wilderness. Because you have complained against me, none of you over twenty years of age will enter that land. 30 I promised to let you live there, but not one of you will, except Caleb and Joshua. 31 You said that your children would be captured, but I will bring them into the land that you rejected, and it will be their home. 32 You will die here in this wilderness. 33 Your children will wander in the wilderness for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last one of you dies. 34 You will suffer the consequences of your sin for forty years, one year for each of the forty days you spent exploring the land. You will know what it means to have me against you! 35 I swear that I will do this to you wicked people who have gathered together against me. Here in the wilderness every one of you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
36-37 The men Moses had sent to explore the land brought back a false report which caused the people to complain against the Lord. And so the Lord struck them with a disease, and they died. 38 Of the twelve spies only Joshua and Caleb survived.
The First Attempt to Invade the Land
(Deuteronomy 1.41-46)39 When Moses told the Israelites what the Lord had said, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they started out to invade the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go to the place which the Lord told us about. We admit that we have sinned.”
41 But Moses said, “Then why are you disobeying the Lord now? You will not succeed! 42 Don't go. The Lord is not with you, and your enemies will defeat you. 43 When you face the Amalekites and the Canaanites, you will die in battle; the Lord will not be with you, because you have refused to follow him.”
44 Yet they still dared to go up into the hill country, even though neither the Lord's Covenant Box nor Moses left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived there attacked and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hormah.