The People Complain

¹ Then all the community ⌞lifted up their voices⌟,¹ and the people wept during that night.

1. Hebrew “they lifted up and gave their voice”

² And all the ⌞Israelites⌟¹ grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and all the community said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt or in this desert!

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

³ Why did Yahweh bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little children will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

⁴ ⌞They said to each other⌟,¹ “Let us appoint a leader, and we will return to Egypt.”

1. Literally “A man said to his brother”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces ⌞before⌟¹ the assembly of the community of the ⌞Israelites⌟.²

1. Literally “in the presence of”
2. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the explorers of the land, tore their garments.

⁷ And they said to all the community of the ⌞Israelites⌟,¹ “The land that we went through to explore is an ⌞exceptionally good land⌟.²

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”
2. Literally “the land is very very good”

⁸ If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and he will give it to us, a land that is flowing with milk and honey.

⁹ Only do not rebel against Yahweh, and you will not fear the people of the land, because they will be our food. ⌞Their protection⌟¹ has been turned from them; Yahweh is with us. You should not fear them.”

1. Literally “Their shadow”

¹⁰ And all the community said to stone them with stones, but the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of assembly among the ⌞Israelites⌟.¹

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

¹¹ And Yahweh said to Moses, “How long until this people will despise me, and how long until they will not believe in me, and in all the signs that I have done in their¹ midst?

1. Hebrew “his”

¹² I will strike them¹ with disease, and I will dispossess them;² I will make you into a greater and stronger nation than them.”³

1. Hebrew “him”
2. Hebrew “him”
3. Hebrew “him”

¹³ And Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear that you brought up this people from their¹ midst in your power,

1. Hebrew “his”

¹⁴ and they will ⌞tell it⌟¹ to the inhabitants of this land. They heard that you, Yahweh, are in the midst of this people, that you are seen eye to eye, and your cloud is standing over them, and in a column of cloud you go before them by day and in a column of fire at night.

1. Literally “say”

¹⁵ But if you destroy this people ⌞all at once⌟,¹ the nations that will have heard your message will say,

1. Literally “as one man”

¹⁶ ‘Yahweh was unable to bring this people in the land that he swore by an oath, and he slaughtered them in the desert.’

¹⁷ But now, please, let the power of my Lord be great, just has you spoke,

¹⁸ ‘Yahweh is ⌞slow to anger⌟¹ and great of loyal love, ⌞forgiving⌟² sin and rebellion; but surely he leaves nothing unpunished, visiting the sin of the fathers on the sons to the third and fourth generations.’

1. Literally “slow of noses”
2. Literally “lifting up”

¹⁹ Please forgive the sin of this people according to the greatness of your loyal love, just as you ⌞forgave⌟¹ this people, from Egypt until now.”

1. Literally “lifted up”

²⁰ Yahweh said, “I have forgiven them according to your word;

²¹ but as I am alive, the glory of Yahweh will fill all the earth.

²² But because all the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the desert yet tested me these ten times and did not listen to my voice,

²³ they will not see the land that I swore by oath to their ancestors,¹ and all those who despised me will not see it.

1. Or “fathers”

²⁴ But my servant Caleb, because another spirit was with him, he remained true after me, and I will bring him into the land that ⌞he entered⌟,¹ and his offspring will take possession of it.

1. Or “he went to”

²⁵ And the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; tomorrow turn and set out for the desert by way of the ⌞Red Sea⌟.”¹

1. Literally “sea of reed”

²⁶ And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²⁷ “How long will I bear this evil community who are grumbling against me? I have heard the grumbling of the ⌞Israelites⌟¹ which ⌞they are making⌟² against me.

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”
2. Literally “they are grumbling”

²⁸ Say to them, ‘Surely as I live,’ ⌞declares⌟¹ Yahweh, ‘just as you spoke ⌞in my hearing⌟,² so I will do to you;

1. Literally “declaration of”
2. Literally “in my ears”

²⁹ in this desert your corpses will fall, and all your counted ones, according to all your number, from ⌞twenty years old⌟¹ and above who grumbled against me.

1. Literally “a son of twenty years”

³⁰ You yourselves will not come into the land that ⌞I swore by oath⌟¹ to make you to dwell in it, but Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

1. Literally “I lifted up my hand”

³¹ But your little children, whom you said would be plunder, I will bring them, and they will know the land that you rejected.

³² But for you, all your corpses will fall in this desert.

³³ And your children will be shepherds in the desert forty years,¹ and you will bear your unfaithfulness until ⌞all your corpses have fallen⌟² in the desert.

1. Hebrew “year”
2. Literally “until to complete your corpses”

³⁴ According to the number of the days¹ that you explored the land, forty days,² ⌞a day for each year⌟,³ you will bear your sins forty years,⁴ and you will know my opposition.’

1. Hebrew “day”
2. Hebrew “day”
3. Literally “a day for a year a day for a year”
4. Hebrew “year”

³⁵ I, Yahweh, have spoken; I will surely do this to all this evil community who has banded together against me. In this desert they will come to an end, and there they will die.”

³⁶ As for the men whom Moses sent to explore the land, who returned and made the community grumble against him by spreading a report over the land,

³⁷ the men who spread the evil report of the land died by the plague ⌞before Yahweh⌟.¹

1. Literally “in the presence of Yahweh”

³⁸ But Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh lived from among the men who went to explore the land.

³⁹ And Moses spoke words to all the ⌞Israelites⌟,¹ and the people mourned greatly.

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

⁴⁰ They rose early in the morning and went to the top of the mount, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that Yahweh said, because we have sinned.”

⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why are you going against the command of Yahweh? It will not succeed.

⁴² You should not go up because Yahweh is not in your midst; do not let yourselves be defeated in the presence of your enemies,

⁴³ because the Amalekites¹ and the Canaanites² are there ⌞before you⌟,³ and you will fall by the sword; because you have turned back from Yahweh, and Yahweh will not be with you.”