The People Rebel
1That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 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 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?” 4And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 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. 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 assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 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 down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
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 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. 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 these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
17“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18‘The 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 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.”
20The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 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— 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 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. 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.14:25 Or the Sea of Reeds”
26The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27“How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: 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. 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. 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 bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 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, 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.”
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— 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 men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 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 disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! 42Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 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.”
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 that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
以色列人發怨言
1當晚，全體會眾放聲大哭。 2全體以色列會眾埋怨摩西和亞倫說：「我們還不如死在埃及或曠野！ 3耶和華為什麼把我們領到這裡來，讓我們死於刀下？我們的妻兒必被擄去。我們還不如返回埃及。」 4他們彼此議論說：「我們選一位首領帶我們回埃及吧！」
5摩西和亞倫俯伏在以色列全體會眾面前。 6打探迦南的人中，嫩的兒子約書亞和耶孚尼的兒子迦勒撕裂衣服， 7對以色列全體會眾說：「我們去打探的地方極其美好。 8如果耶和華喜悅我們，祂必把我們帶到那片土地，將那奶蜜之鄉賜給我們。 9你們不要背叛耶和華，也不要害怕那裡的人，他們不過是我們的獵物，他們已失去庇護。耶和華與我們同在，不要怕他們。」 10但全體會眾威脅要用石頭打死他們二人。這時耶和華的榮光在會幕中向全體以色列人顯現。
11耶和華對摩西說：「這些人藐視我要到何時呢？我在他們中間行了這麼多神蹟，他們還要不信我到何時呢？ 12我要用瘟疫毀滅他們，不讓他們承受那片土地。但我要使你成為大國，比他們更強盛。」 13摩西對耶和華說：「你曾經用大能把以色列人從埃及領出來，埃及人聽說這事後， 14一定會告訴迦南的居民。那裡的居民早已聽說你耶和華與以色列人同在，你面對面向他們顯現，你的雲彩停留在他們上面，你白天用雲柱、黑夜用火柱引導他們。 15如果你把他們全部消滅，那些聽過你威名的列國就會議論說， 16『耶和華無法把以色列人領到祂起誓要賜給他們的地方，所以在曠野把他們殺了。』 17因此，求主彰顯偉大的權能，正如你所宣告的， 18『耶和華不輕易發怒，充滿慈愛；祂赦免罪惡和過犯，但決不免除罪責，必向子孫追討父輩的罪債，直到三四代。』 19從他們離開埃及直到現在，你一直在饒恕他們，求你以偉大的慈愛再次赦免這些人的罪。」
20耶和華說：「我聽你的祈求，赦免他們。 21但我憑我的永恆起誓，正如大地充滿我的榮耀一樣確實， 22-23他們絕對一個也看不到我起誓要賜給他們祖先的土地，藐視我的人都看不到那片土地。這些人見過我的榮耀，見過我在埃及和曠野所行的神蹟，卻仍然不聽我的話，試探我十次之多。 24但我的僕人迦勒力排眾議，全心跟從我，所以我必帶他進入那片他去過的土地，讓他的子孫擁有那片產業。 25由於亞瑪力人和迦南人住在山谷中，明天你們要轉回，沿紅海的路前往曠野。」
26耶和華對摩西和亞倫說： 27「這邪惡的會眾向我發怨言要到何時呢？我已聽見以色列人對我的埋怨。 28你們去把我的話告訴他們，『以色列人啊，我憑我的永恆起誓，我必照你們所說的對待你們。 29你們當中凡登記在冊、二十歲以上向我發怨言的人，必倒斃在這曠野中， 30除耶孚尼的兒子迦勒和嫩的兒子約書亞之外，你們無人能進入我向你們起誓應許之地。 31你們說你們的兒女會被擄去，但我要把他們帶到那裡，讓他們享有那片你們厭棄的土地。 32而你們必死在這曠野。 33你們的兒女要在曠野飄泊四十年，為你們的不忠而受苦，直到你們都死在曠野。 34你們打探了那地方四十天，你們要為自己的罪受苦四十年，一年頂一天。那時，你們就知道與我為敵的後果。』 35我耶和華已經說過，我必這樣對付這群集合起來與我為敵的邪惡會眾。他們必死在曠野，全部喪命。」
36摩西派去打探迦南的人回來以後危言聳聽，以致全體會眾向摩西發怨言。 37這些危言聳聽的人因而染上瘟疫，死在耶和華面前。 38前去打探的人中只有嫩的兒子約書亞和耶孚尼的兒子迦勒得以倖存。
39摩西傳達完耶和華的話後，以色列人非常悲傷。 40他們清早起來上到山頂，說：「我們知罪了，現在我們要去耶和華應許的地方。」 41摩西說：「你們為什麼要違背耶和華的命令？你們不會成功的。 42不要上去！因為耶和華不與你們同在，你們會被敵人打敗。 43你們會遇見亞瑪力人和迦南人，並喪身在他們刀下，因為你們離棄耶和華，祂不再與你們同在。」 44儘管耶和華的約櫃和摩西都沒有出營，他們卻擅自上山頂去。 45住在山區的亞瑪力人和迦南人下來擊潰了他們，一路追殺他們到何珥瑪。
