Numbers 14:5–19

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground. They did it in front of the whole community of Israel that was gathered there.

⁶Joshua, the son of Nun, tore his clothes. So did Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Joshua and Caleb were two of the men who had checked out the land. ⁷They spoke to the whole community of Israel. They said, “We passed through the land and checked it out. It’s very good. ⁸If the Lord is pleased with us, he’ll lead us into that land. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. He’ll give it to us.

⁹“But don’t refuse to obey him. And don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will swallow them up. The Lord is with us. So nothing can save them. Don’t be afraid of them.”

¹⁰But all of the people talked about killing Joshua and Caleb by throwing stones at them.

Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting. All of the people of Israel saw it. ¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “How long will these people make fun of me? How long will they refuse to believe in me? They refuse even though I have done many miraculous signs among them. ¹²So I will strike them down with a plague. I will destroy them. But I will make you into a greater and stronger nation than they are.”

¹³Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it. You used your power to bring these people up from among them.

¹⁴“And the Egyptians will tell the people who live in Canaan about it. Lord, they have already heard a lot about you. They’ve heard that you are with these people. They’ve heard that you have been seen face to face. They’ve been told that your cloud stays over them. They’ve heard that you go in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day. They’ve been told that you go in front of them in a pillar of fire at night.

¹⁵“Suppose you put these people to death all at one time. Then the nations who have heard those things about you will talk. They’ll say, ¹⁶‘The Lord took an oath. He promised to give these people the land of Canaan. But he wasn’t able to bring them into it. So he killed them in the desert.’

¹⁷“Now, Lord, show your strength. You have said, ¹⁸‘I am the Lord. I am slow to get angry. I am full of love. I forgive those who sin. I forgive those who refuse to obey. But I do not let guilty people go without punishing them. I punish the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the sin of their parents.’

¹⁹“Lord, your love is great. So forgive the sin of these people. Forgive them just as you have done from the time they left Egypt until now.”