Numbers 3-4, 6, and 11-14

3 The Sons of Aaron

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: dNadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ethe anointed priests, fwhom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 gBut Nadab and Abihu died before the Lordwhen they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 h“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ias they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And jyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are kwholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and lthey shall guard their priesthood. But if many outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, nI have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for oall the firstborn are mine. pOn the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; qevery male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 rAnd these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: sLibni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: tAmram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: uMahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 vThe clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 And the wguard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved xthe tabernacle, ythe tent with zits covering, athe screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 bthe hangings of the court, cthe screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and dits cords—all the service connected with these.

27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the eAmramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with fElizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved gthe ark, hthe table, ithe lampstand, jthe altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and kthe screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 lAnd the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the mframes of the tabernacle, nthe bars, othe pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also pthe pillars around the court, with their bases and qpegs and rcords.

38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, sguarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were t22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 uAnd you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 v“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And was the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take xfive shekels3per head; you shall take them according to ythe shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, z1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses agave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

4 Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 3 bfrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: cthe most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down dthe veil of the screen and cover ethe ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its fpoles. 7 And over the gtable of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; hthe regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall iput in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover jthe lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over kthe golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all lthe vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that mthe sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, nbut they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of othe oil for the light, the pfragrant incense, qthe regular grain offering, and rthe anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to sthe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 tbut they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

21 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. 23 uFrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can vcome to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 wthey shall carry xthe curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with yits covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be zunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. 30 uFrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And athis is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall blist by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, cunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 35 ufrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 dThis was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 39 ufrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 2,630. 41 eThis was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.

42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 43 ufrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 fThis was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lordby Moses.

46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 47 ufrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the Lordthrough Moses they were listed, geach one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, has the Lord commanded Moses. 

6 The Nazirite Vow

6 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of ea Nazirite,1 fto separate himself to the Lord, 3 he gshall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. 4 All the days of his separation2 he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

5 “All the days of his vow of separation, no hrazor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. iHe shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.

6 “All the days that he separates himself to the Lord jhe shall not go near a dead body. 7 kNot even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. 8 All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord.

9 “And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, then lhe shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. 10 mOn the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 11 and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day 12 and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old nfor a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

13 “And this is the law for the Nazirite, owhen the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 14 and he shall bring his gift to the Lord, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish pas a sin offering, and one ram without blemish qas a peace offering, 15 and a basket of unleavened bread, rloaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their sgrain offering and their tdrink offerings. 16 And the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer uhis sin offering and his burnt offering, 17 and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 And the Nazirite vshall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of the peace offering. 19 And the priest shall take the wshoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened loaf out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and xshall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the hair of his consecration, 20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. yThey are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed. And after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

21 “This is the law of the Nazirite. But if he vows an offering to the Lordabove his Nazirite vow, as he can afford, in exact accordance with the vow that he takes, then he shall do in addition to the law of the Nazirite.”

Aaron’s Blessing

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus zyou shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

24  The Lord abless you and bkeep you;

25  the Lord cmake his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

26  the Lord dlift up his countenance3 upon you and give you peace.

27 e“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

11 The People Complain

11 And tthe people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, uhis anger was kindled, and vthe fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then wthe people cried out to Moses, xand Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called yTaberah,1 because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

4 Now the zrabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also awept again and said, b“Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 cWe remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

7 Now dthe manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 eThe people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. fAnd the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 gWhen the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

10 Moses heard the people hweeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 iMoses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, j‘Carry them in your bosom, as a knurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land lthat you swore to give their fathers? 13 mWhere am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 nI am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me oseventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and pofficers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 qAnd I will come down and talk with you there. And rI will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and sthey shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, t‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? uFor it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, vuntil it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, w“Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, x“The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 yShall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, z“Is the Lord‘s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether amy word will come true for you or not.”

24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. bAnd he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then cthe Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.

26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they dhad not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And eJoshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, fstop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? gWould that all the Lord‘s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Quail and a Plague

31 Then a hwind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits2above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten ihomers.3 And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 jWhile the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and kthe Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called lKibroth-hattaavah,4 because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 mFrom Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to nHazeroth, and they remained at nHazeroth.

12 Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? oHas he not spoken through us also?” And pthe Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And qthe Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him rin a vision; I speak with him sin a dream. 7 Not so with tmy servant Moses. uHe is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak vmouth to mouth, clearly, and not in wriddles, and he beholds xthe form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.

10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, yMiriam was zleprous,5 like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, ado not punish us6because we have done foolishly and have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but bspit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be cshut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam dwas shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. 16 After that the people set out from eHazeroth, and camped in fthe wilderness of Paran.

13 Spies Sent into Canaan

13 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 g“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from hthe wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 ifrom the tribe of Judah, jCaleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, kHoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called kHoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into lthe Negeb and go up into mthe hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is nrich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. oBe of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and spied out the land pfrom the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, qnear Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into mthe Negeb and came to rHebron. sAhiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the tdescendants of Anak, were there. (uHebron was built seven years before uZoan in Egypt.) 23 And vthey came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol,7 because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

Report of the Spies

25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at wKadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It xflows with milk and honey, yand this is its fruit. 28 zHowever, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 aThe Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. bAnd the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

30 But cCaleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 dThen the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So ethey brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and fall the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the gNephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the gNephilim), and we seemed to ourselves hlike grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

14 The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people iwept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel jgrumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or kwould that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? lOur wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, m“Let us choose a leader and ngo back to Egypt.”

5 Then oMoses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 pAnd Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, q“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If rthe Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, sa land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only tdo not rebel against the Lord. And udo not fear the people of the land, for vthey are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 wThen all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But xthe glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people ydespise me? And how long will they not zbelieve in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I awill make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

13 But bMoses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. cThey have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and dyour cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord ewas not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 f‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, gvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please hpardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ias you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

God Promises Judgment

20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, jaccording to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all kthe earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 lnone of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these mten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 nshall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant oCaleb, because he has a different spirit and has pfollowed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 qNow, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, rturn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall sthis wicked congregation grumble against me? tI have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, u‘As I live, declares the Lord, vwhat you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 wyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and xof all your number, listed in the census yfrom twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I zswore that I would make you dwell, aexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 bBut your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that cyou have rejected. 32 But as for you, wyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children dshall be shepherds in the wilderness eforty years and shall fsuffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 gAccording to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, hforty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 iI, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all jthis wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

36 kAnd the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land—37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—ldied by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, monly Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Israel Defeated in Battle

39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people nmourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, o“Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 pBut Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 qDo not go up, rfor the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there sthe Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 tBut they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither uthe ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then vthe Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to wHormah.