Numbers 14:5–19

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown^m in front of the whole Israelite assemblyⁿ gathered there. ⁶Joshua son of Nun^o and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes^{p 7}and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.^{q 8}If the Lord is pleased with us,^r he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey,^s and will give it to us.^{t 9}Only do not rebel^u against the Lord. And do not be afraid^v of the people of the land,^w because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with^x us.^y Do not be afraid of them.”^z

¹⁰But the whole assembly talked about stoning^a them. Then the glory of the Lord^b appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt?^c How long will they refuse to believe in me,^d in spite of all the signs^e I have performed among them? ¹²I will strike them down with a plague^f and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation^g greater and stronger than they.”^h

¹³Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.^{i 14}And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard^j that you, Lord, are with these people^k and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face,^l that your cloud stays over them,^m and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.^{n 15}If 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,^o so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’^p

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.^q Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’^{r 19}In accordance with your great love, forgive^s the sin of these people,^t just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”^u