Preface:    The people heard a report of the land in Numbers 13 and it stressed them out. Although the report praised the land for its beauty and abundance, ten spies said that Israel would be crushed if they attacked. The people believed them. The people decided to kill Moses and Aaron, elect new leaders, and go back to Egypt. Caleb and Joshua gave a very different report. They were confident of Israel taking the land. God calls to Moses for a chat and proposes to destroy this people. Moses acts as an intercessor, saying no, and he gives good reasons why God should not destroy this people. God relents, but tells Moses that they will pull back and He will kill all of Gen X and then bring the next generation into the land. This information is brought back to the people. There is a plague which wipes out ten spies with the bad report. The people, hoping to prove themselves to God, make an unauthorized attack on southern Canaan and are soundly defeated.

The Bible Summary of Numbers 14 (in 140 characters or less): The people grumbled so the LORD said that they would spend forty years in the wilderness. They went up to the land but were defeated.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Numbers. By the third draft, this should be the most extensive examination of Numbers 14, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 14:

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Wanders in the Desert for 40 Years (a graphic)

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Numbers 14 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Numbers 14 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Numbers 14

         Introduction         The Prequel of Numbers 14

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Numbers 14

         Introduction         The Places of Numbers 14

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Numbers 14

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Numbers 14

         Introduction         Outlines of Numbers 14 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Numbers 14 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Numbers 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Numbers 14)

         Introduction 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      22              The Ten Times the Hebrew People Tested God

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Numbers 14 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Numbers 14

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Numbers 14

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Numbers 14

         Summary 

         Addendum          Footnote for Numbers 14:1 (Christian Community Bible)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Numbers 14

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Numbers 14

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Numbers 14

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Numbers 14

——————————

An Introduction to Numbers 14

I ntroduction: Numbers 14 has picked up where the exciting 13^th chapter left off. Out of complete unbelief and lack of faith, ten of the spies began spreading the evil rumor that they could not win against those who occupied the land of Canaan. They over exaggerated the disparity between the Jews and the people of the land, in order to sway the people over to their way of thinking. The men of Israel, who were a generation of trashy, worthless and faithless crybabies, were easily convinced. After seeing incredible signs of what Y^ehowah was capable, all it took was an evil rumor passionately spread to dissuade them of God's power.

Due to their unbelief, God will speak personally to Moses and threaten to destroy the entire race of Jews and begin anew. Moses intercedes, portraying a wonderful picture of God the Son, standing in the gap between God and man, redeeming worthless man before a perfect God. It is only the intervention of God the Son which delivers us from eternal separation from God, which was the proposal of God concerning the children of Israel. The pictures painted in the Old Testament are marvelous and incredible, all foreshadowing a God Who forgive us our sins—Who forgives those who do not deserve it—on the intervention of a mediator.

There are jokes as well as memes which speak to Moses and the people of Israel not going directly from Egypt into Canaan. Some critics think that this shows the Bible is confused because such a trip from Egypt to Canaan would not take 40 years.

Wanders in the Desert for 40 Years (a graphic); from Reddit; accessed May 5, 2025. Some of the memes and commentary are misinformed and disrespectful. Some of the memes are light humor. This belonged to the first category, where the heading read, What took him so long? Is he stupid?

Numbers 13 and 14 explain what took place. In Numbers 13, God guided Israel right up to the border of Canaan, men were sent into the land to surreptitiously travel through it and make an intelligence report to Moses. Twelve men, one from each tribe, was sent into the land of Canaan. They returned with ten spies frightened of the people in the land (this marked the end of Numbers 13). There was a minority report from Caleb and Joshua saying, “This is the land that God has promised to give us. Let’s go in and take the land. The people of Israel disagreed with the minority report and they wanted to kill Moses, elect a new leader, and go back to Egypt. Had their been an election of adults, 95% would have voted, “Kill Moses, elect a new leader, and go back to Egypt.”

God stops these proceedings and then talks directly with Moses in the Tabernacle. God is ready to kill all Israel and start from scratch with Moses and his family (presumably a few others, but not many). Moses, acting as an intercessor for Israel, tells God why He should not do this.

Obviously, God does not change His mind or think He should do X, but a really smart person talks Him into doing Y instead. That is how it is presented in Numbers 14, but God knew all along what He was going to do. God requires Moses to act as an intercessory figure, as a type of Christ, before God indicates what He is going to do.

There are two generations of people who came out of Egypt (and some others till to be born). This chapter divides them up into two groups—the older generation, who left Egypt as adults (Gen X) and the younger generation who were under 20 when they left Egypt. There are others who will be born in the desert-wilderness also who belong to the younger generation (also known as the generation of promise). God will kill off the older generation and then lead the next generation into the land of promise. This will take place about 38½ years from the time of this chapter. Although we may lump these two disparate groups together, future references to the Exodus generation are usually specific to Gen X.

Timeline for Numbers

There is very little narrative in the book of Numbers; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Numbers.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so lifts up, the whole company, and so they give their sound and so weep the people in the night the that. And so they grumble upon Moses and Aaron, all sons of Israel, and so they say unto them, the company “O that we had died in a land of Mizraim, or in to the wilderness the this O that we had died. And for why Y^ehowah bringing us unto the land the this, to fall in the sword, our women and our children are for a spoil? Is not good to us to return Egypt-ward?” And so they say, a man unto his brother, “Let us give a head and let us return Egypt-ward.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) Therefore the whole multitude crying wept that night.

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying:

Would God that we had died in Egypt: and would God we may die in this vast wilderness, and that the Lord may not bring us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives and children be led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt?

And they said one to another: Let us appoint a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

All the B'nai Yisrael murmured against Mosha and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness!

Why does Mar-Yah bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: would it not be better for us to return into Egypt?"

They said one to another, "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!

And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried; and the people wept all that night.

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron; and all the congregation said to them,

If only we would have died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we would have died in this wilderness! And why does the Lord bring us into this land to fall in war? Our wives and our children shall be for a prey: now then it is better to return into Egypt.

And they said to one another, Let us select a leader and return into Egypt.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Then all the people gave load cries of grief, and all that night they gave themselves up to weeping. 

And all the children of Israel, crying out against Moses and Aaron, said, If only we had come to our death in the land of Egypt, or even in this waste land! 

Why is the Lord taking us into this land to come to our death by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will get into strange hands: would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? 

And they said to one another, Let us make a captain over us, and go back to Egypt.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  That night all the people in the camp began shouting loudly.

The Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. All the people came together and said to Moses and Aaron, "We should have died in Egypt or in the desert. Did the LORD bring us to this new land to be killed in war? The enemy will kill us and take our wives and children! It would be better for us to go back to Egypt."

Then the people said to each other, "Let's choose another leader and go back to Egypt."

God’s Word™                         Then all the people in the Israelite community raised their voices and cried out loud all that night.

They complained to Moses and Aaron, "If only we had died in Egypt or this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land-just to have us die in battle? Our wives and children will be taken as prisoners of war! Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"

They said to each other, "Let's choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Good News Bible (TEV)         All night long the people cried out in distress.

They complained against Moses and Aaron, and said, "It would have been better to die in Egypt or even here in the wilderness! Why is the LORD taking us into that land? We will be killed in battle, and our wives and children will be captured. Wouldn't it be better to go back to Egypt?"

So they said to one another, "Let's choose a leader and go back to Egypt!"

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       After the Israelites heard the report from the twelve men who had explored Canaan, the people cried all night and complained to Moses and Aaron, "We wish we had died in Egypt or somewhere out here in the desert! Is the LORD leading us into Canaan, just to have us killed and our women and children captured? We'd be better off in Egypt."

Then they said to one another, "Let's choose our own leader and go back."

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    That night, all the Israelite people cried loudly.  

The next day they all complained against Aaron and Moses. All the men said, "We wish that we had died in Egypt, or in this wilderness! Why is Yahweh bringing us to this land, where we men will be killed with swords? And they will take away our wives and children to be their slaves. Instead of going to Canaan, it would be better for us to return to Egypt!"  

Then some of them said to each other, "We should choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt!"

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          The whole congregation lifting up their voice gave weeping, and the people wept that night.

And all the children of Israel stopped in rebellion2 against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, We wish that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or, We wish we had died in this desert!

And why has Jehovah brought us to this land to fall by the sword? Are not our wives and our children a prey? Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?

And each man said to his brother, Let us make a head and return to Egypt.

² 14:2 stopped in rebellion, luwn, which means to stop moving, park, and refuse to move at the leader’s direction, to remain where you are. The KJV translates luwn as murmur. Luwn describes what they did, not what they said. They stopped moving forward, stationed themselves, and refused to move, just like a stubborn farm animal that refuses to move another step. Luwn describes what they did; then we are told what they said. Teluwnah in Num 14:27 does mean obstinate grumbling, or murmuring, and is so translated.

International Standard V        .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text   That night all the community wept loudly.  

All the people of Israel criticized Moses and Aaron. The whole community said to them, "We wish we had died in the land of Egypt, or here in this wilderness! Why did Yahweh bring us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become victims. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?"  

They said to each another, "Let us choose another leader, and let us return to Egypt."

Urim-Thummim Version         And all the nation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole nation said to them, O that we had died in the land of Egypt, or in this uninhabited land, O that we had died! Why now has YHWH brought us to this land, to fall by the sword so that our women and our children should be a prey? Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? And they said to each other, let us assign a chief and let us return to Egypt.

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Rebellion at Kadesh

• Then all the community broke out in loud cries and wept during the night. All the people grumbled against Aaron and Moses; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in Egypt or died in the wilderness. Why is Yahweh bringing us to this country where we shall fall under the sword, and our women and little children become part of the plunder? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and return to Egypt.” Dt 1: 26-32 14:11; 16:3

Extensive footnote for v. 1 is placed in the Addendum.

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989            .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

Eth Cepher Bible                    AND all the assembly lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.  And all the children of Yashar’el murmured against Mosheh and against Aharon: and the whole assembly said unto them, Would to Elohiym that we had died in the land of Mitsrayim! or would to Elohiym we had died in this wilderness!  And wherefore has Yahuah brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our women and our children should be a prey? Were it not better for us to return into Mitsrayim? 

And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Mitsrayim.

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.  And all the children of Yisra’ěl grumbled against Mosheh and against Aharon, and all the congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Mitsrayim! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 

“And why is יהוה bringing us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become a prey? Would it not be better for us to turn back to Mitsrayim?” 

And they said to each other, “Let us appoint a leader, and let us turn back to Mitsrayim.”

Tree of Life Version                All through that night, the entire community raised up their voices. The people wept.

All Bnei-Yisrael grumbled against Moses and Aaron and the whole community said, “If only we had died in Egypt! If only we had died in this wilderness! Why is Adonai bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be like plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”

They said to each other, “Let’s choose a leader and let’s go back to Egypt!”

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND ALL THE CONGREGATION LIFTED UP THEIR VOICE AND CRIED; AND THE PEOPLE CRIED ALL THAT NIGHT.

AND ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL MURMURED AGAINST MOSES AND AARON; AND ALL THE CONGREGATION SAID TO THEM,

WOULD WE HAD DIED IN THE LAND OF EGYPT! OR IN THIS DESERT, WOULD WE HAD DIED! AND WHY DOES JESUS BRING US INTO THIS LAND TO FALL IN WAR? OUR WIVES AND OUR CHILDREN SHALL BE FOR A PREY: NOW THEN IT IS BETTER TO RETURN INTO EGYPT. AND THEY SAID ONE TO ANOTHER, LET US MAKE A RULER, AND RETURN INTO EGYPT.

Awful Scroll Bible                   The assembly was to lift up a loud cry for that what was published, even were the people to weep that night.

Even were the sons of Contends-with-he-mighty to grumble against Moses and Aaron. The assembly was to say: Would that we are to have died on the solid grounds of Egypt! Would that we are to have died in the wilderness!

Is Sustains To Become to be bringing us in to these solid grounds to fall by the sword? - Our wives and little ones are to be prey. It is beneficial to turn back to Egypt.

They were to say, a man to his brother: We were to be setting a chief over us, even were we to turn back to Egypt.

Concordant Literal Version    . Lament

exeGeses companion Bible   THE SONS OF YISRA EL MURMUR

And all the witness

lift and give their voice and cry;

and the people weep that night.

And all the sons of Yisra El

murmur against Mosheh and against Aharon:

and all the witness say to them,

O that we had died in the land of Misrayim!

O that we had died in this wilderness!

And why brings Yah Veh us to this land,

to fall by the sword?

And our women and our children become a plunder?

Were it not better for us to return into Misrayim?

And they say man to brother,

We give us a head and return to Misrayim.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Kol HaEdah lifted up their voice, and cried; and HaAm wept that night.

And Kol Bnei Yisroel murmured against Moshe and against Aharon: and the Kol HaEdah said unto them, If only we had died in Eretz Mitzrayim! Or if only we had died in this midbar!

And why hath Hashem brought us unto this land, to fall by the cherev, that nasheinu (our wives) and our children should be as plunder? Were it not better for us to go back unto Mitzrayim?

And they said one to another, Let us make a Rosh (Leader), and let us go back unto Mitzrayim.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. Then did all the assembly lift upˎ and give forth their voice,—and the people wept throughout that night. And all the sons of Israel |murmured against Moses and against Aaron|,—and all the assembly said unto them—

    Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt!

    Or <in this wilderness> oh that we had died!

Whereforeˎ thenˎ is Yahweh bringing us into this landˎ to fall by the sword?

||Our wives and little ones|| will become a prey!

Would it not be well for us to go back towards Egypt?

And they saidˎ one to another,—

    Let us appoint a headˎ and let us go back towards Egypt.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

International Standard V        The People Rebel

At this, the entire assembly [Or congregation] complained, started to shout, and cried through the rest of that night. All the Israelis complained against Moses and Aaron. Then the entire assembly responded, “We wish that we had died in Egypt or [Lit. that we have died] in this wilderness. What’s the point in the Lord bringing us to this land? To die by the sword so our wives and children would become war victims? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”

Then they told each other, “Let’s assign a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            The People Complain

Then all the community lifted up their voices, [Hebrew “they lifted up and gave their voice”] and the people wept during that night. And all the Israelites [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] 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! 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?”

They said to each other, [Literally “A man said to his brother”] “Let us appoint a leader, and we will return to Egypt.”

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 Exploring the Promised Land

The entire community raised a hubbub and began to shout. That night, the people wept.

All the Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron. The entire community was saying, 'We wish we had died in Egypt! We should have died in this desert!

Why is God bringing us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will be captives! It would be best to go back to Egypt!'

The people started saying to one another, 'Let's appoint a [new] leader and go back to Egypt.' The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Numbers through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

That night

The eve of 9 Av, better known as Tisha B'Av. (See note on Numbers 13:25). It hence became a day of tragedy.

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Updated ASV                         .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT             Upon this, all the congregation, raising their voices, shouted aloud, and the people wept that whole night. And all the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, that we had died in the land of Egypt, or even in this wilderness! If we must die, why doth the Lord lead us into that land to fall in battle? Our wives and our children will be for a prey. Now therefore it is better for us to return to Egypt.

Then they said to one another, Let us appoint a leader, and return to Egypt.

Context Group Version          .

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried and the people wept that night. And all the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them, If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! And why does Jehovah bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey. Were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

And they said one to another, Let us give ourselves a chief and let us return into Egypt.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   . Title

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and all the company lifted up, and they gave their voice, and the people wept in that night, and all the sons of Yisra'eyl murmured upon Mosheh and upon Aharon, and all the company said to them, would that we died in the land of Mits'rayim or in that wilderness would that we died, and why is YHWH making us come to this land to fall on the sword, our women and our babies will exist for plunder, is it not functional for us to turn back unto Mits'rayim, and they said, each to his brother, we will make a head[908], and we will turn back unto Mits'rayim,...

908. That is, a “leader.”

Updated ASV                         The People Rebel Wanting to Return to Egypt

Then all the assembly raised their voice, and the people continued crying out and weeping all through that night. All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole assembly said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is Jehovah bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

1-4

Translation: And so the whole company lifts up...

The whole company refers to all of Israel (with some very specific exceptions). What they are lifting up is their voices, which is given in the next phrase.

Translation: ...and so they give (forth) their voices...

They give forth their voices, meaning they can be heard very well.

What began as a whispered campaign against entering into the land of Canaan became something that was very loud and could not be ignored.

The bad report was quietly spread throughout the people by the ten spies who were against going into the land, but, as a result, the people lifted up their voice and they gave forth the sounds of their voices.

Translation: ...and so the people weep in that night.

One of the most noticeable sounds was that of them weeping throughout the night. At least the males, and maybe the females, were a part of this, weeping all night.

Numbers 14:1 And so the whole company lifts up and so they give (forth) their voices and so the people weep in that night. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

You know exactly what is going on here if you have had a child. A young child has learned that when he wants something, crying seems to do the trick. He may stub his toe, fall down, or whatever, but if he has decided that he needs a little sympathy, he will cry. He will lift up his voice and cry. If there is not an immediate response to this personal crisis, his personal crisis management skills demands that he cry louder until there is a response. So the Jews heard the rumors, talk about this in an animated fashion, trading viewpoints, lifting up their voices to God, hoping for a pardon, and after a lot of talking, began to cry and weep in unison.

Translation: And so they complain against Moses and Aaron,...

They began by complaining against Moses and Aaron among themselves, but a delegation of men—men who had cried all night long—go to Moses and Aaron and lodge their complaints directly with them.

Back in Numbers 11:1, the Jews became like those who complain of adversity. Here, they are no longer like those who complain, but they have broken into a full blown verbal revolution. Their complaint before was lack of variety in their diets—in fact, they longed to return to Egypt to enjoy once again the foods they remembered (Numbers 11:5). These complaints will continue and escalate throughout Numbers 16, 20 and 21.

The verb murmur is in the Niphal, which is the causative stem. The rumors started by the ten dissidents caused them to murmur against Moses. So, what are they afraid of? They are afraid of dying. So what is their solution? That they died earlier.

Translation: ...all the sons of Israel,...

All of the people complain. All of them that night. There were at least four who did not, but most of them did.

Obviously, all the people of Israel cannot complain directly to Moses and Aaron, but many of them went, and they represented the rest of Israel.

Translation: ...and so the company says unto them,...

And the people who came before Moses and Aaron the next morning (I assume this happened at the break of dawn) had what was apparently a rehearsed speech; or a repeating of things which people had said all night.

Now, people have had many hours to prepare themselves to speak to Moses and Aaron. However, what they say is going to be entirely illogical.

Translation: ...“If only we had died in the land of Egypt...

The first thing that they say is, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt!”

God expects the people to go to war against the people of the land to take the land of Canaan. They believe that they are unable to do this, so, instead of dying on the battlefield, they are wishing that they had died earlier when they were living as slaves in Egypt.

Now how does this make any sense? The people are filled with fear and with self-pity, so that what they say and believe does not have to make logical sense.

Illustration: At this point in time (I am writing this in April of 2025), there is a very large number of people calling for due process for illegal aliens living in our country illegally. Most of the ones being removed are involved in crime and they are in gangs. They came into our country illegally. So how is moving them out of the country a violation of due process? It logically makes no sense. The citizens of the United States are to receive due process. People who are here illegally are not subject to due process. Interestingly enough, these same people who are calling for due process were completely against giving due process to the people guilty of trespass at the Capitol Building, January 6, 2021. Although the words insurrection were thrown freely about regarding this incursion into the Capitol, almost every person convicted of a crime was convicted of trespass. So we have people arguing, on the one hand, for due process for non-citizens here illegally; and denying due process to people who are citizens. That is completely illogical, yet I have one friend, a teacher that I used to teach with, a college educated man, who made this same argument!

My point is, you can be a very intelligent person, and still say things which are illogical.

Translation: ...or if only we had died in this desert-wilderness.

These people who are confronting Moses and Aaron, continue with this lack of logic. “If only we had died in the desert-wilderness!”

Numbers 14:2 And so they complain against Moses and Aaron, all the sons of Israel, and so the company says unto them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt or if only we had died in this desert-wilderness. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Let me give you logic. The people cried out and God delivered them out of Egypt, and everyone of them followed Moses and Aaron out of Egypt. They all saw God destroy the Egyptian army, which later pursued them, under millions of gallons of water. So they have seen with their own eyes God preserve them and destroy one of the greatest armies of that era. When in the desert-wilderness, God fed them, miraculously bringing manna from heaven to them every day, six days a week.

It is God Who has preserved this people; and, logically, the people should be able to trust God to continue preserving and protecting them. Yet this come up with this nonsense, “If only we had died in Egypt or if only we had died in the desert-wilderness!”

Translation: Why is Y^ehowah bringing us into this land?

Now they ask the rhetorical question, why is God bringing us into this land?

Even though they are not looking for Moses and Aaron to explain the answer to them, the answer is quite simple: God promised this land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants. He is now going to fulfill that promise (if the Hebrew people are willing).

Translation: To fall by the sword?

The full question is, “Did God bring us into this land to fall by the sword?”

Even though this question is also rhetorical, the answer is, “God is not God if He lets you die by the sword in Canaan.” And, as a comment, God has proven Himself to be God to this people. They have seen things that no one has seen before or since. These things are carefully documented in the book of Exodus.

Translation: [For] our women and children become a spoil (taken in war)?

The full question is, “Did God bring us into this land so that our women and children could become the spoils of war?” That is, the men would all, presumably, die in war, and then all of their women and children would be taken as slaves. “Is that what God has planned for us?” Obviously, no. This is not what God has planned.

Their accusations continue to be irrational and they are ignoring everything that has happened to them up to this point in time.

Translation: Is [it] not good for us to return to Egypt?”

Then these people make the most irrational statement ever: “Should be not just return to Egypt?” Had they even the slightest bit of reality in their brains, they would have realized that Egypt would not welcome them back with open arms. The Egyptians would kill them the moment that the got close to Egypt.

Numbers 14:3 Why is Y^ehowah bringing us into this land? To fall by the sword? [For] our women and children become a spoil (taken in war)? Is [it] not good for us to return to Egypt?” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Obviously they are talking to one another. There are certain phrases being said over and over again, or similar things are being said. These three sentences in v. 3 may or may not have been spoken by the same person; it is as though the assembly of Israelites spoke as one. Once mobs get started, their intelligence quotient seems to drop to the lowest level. There is no true reasoning here; they are only rationalizing what they want due to their fear, which was inspired by the ten reversionists.

Back in Exodus 5:21, this same generation complained to Moses: "May Y^ehowah look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us." Now it is two years later, they have seen Y^ehowah's great power, but they are faithless, so, not only do they want to return to Egypt but they have decided that it would be preferable to have died in Egypt as opposed to dying here. You may be thinking to yourself so what difference does that make? When people have strayed from God, and they behave according to their emotions, they become quite irrational and illogical. From where we stand, these people don't make sense—however, that is to be expected from reversionists.

They have used their children, heirs to the land, as an excuse. The only way to turn around a curse which falls upon succeeding generations is for the younger generation to reject their parents and to embrace the values as taught by God's Word. Our Lord said, "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you [unequivocally] no; instead [I give] division. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother." (Luke 12:51, 53a). This is not a brief for rebellious teenagers to act like bigger jerks than they already are. This is when clear spiritual lines are drawn between following God's Word or not—this younger generation, observing God's power and the hopeless degeneracy of their parents, will separate them from their parents and they will enter the land. Moses said, "Moreover, your little ones, who you said would become a prey and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, will enter there [into the land of milk and honey], and I will give it to them and they will possess it." (Deuteronomy 1:39).

Translation: And so they say, a man [speaking] to his brother,...

Either the night before, or right at this moment, these people began to speak amongst themselves. When it is proposed to return to Egypt, this gets them to talking (even though many of them probably said that night that going back to Egypt is the best option).

Translation: ...“Let us designate a leader...

What the people need to do is select a leader.

Translation: ...and let us return to Egypt.” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

After selecting a leader, then they want to return to Egypt. Like everything else which they have said, this is illogical, it makes no sense, and if they returned to Egypt, the men would all be killed and their wives and children would be made into slaves or worse.

Numbers 14:4 And so they say, a man [speaking] to his brother, “Let us designate a leader and let us return to Egypt.” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This plan of action is about as foolish as they could be. Y^ehowah just decimated Egypt. The living Egyptians despise them, but no one would pursue them further because of the power of God. However, if they returned, without the direction and power of Y^ehowah, then the Egyptians who remained would slaughter most of them and enslave the rest. Had even a thought gone through their heads, they would have realized this. They did not defeat the Egyptians because they were mighty warriors. They did not lift up a hand against the Egyptians. They did not leave Egypt on good terms either. Every person who remained in Egypt had had sons and male family members killed because of the Jews. The Egyptians are not going to hold open welcome arms to celebrate the return of the Jew. But note the suggested method of government—a democracy. They will all choose a leader and then return under that person's leadership to Egypt. Fear is an irrational emotion.

Numbers 14:1–4 And so the whole company lifts up and so they give (forth) their voices and so the people weep in that night. And so they complain against Moses and Aaron, all the sons of Israel, and so the company says unto them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt or if only we had died in this desert-wilderness. Why is Y^ehowah bringing us into this land? To fall by the sword? [For] our women and children become a spoil (taken in war)? Is [it] not good for us to return to Egypt?” And so they say, a man [speaking] to his brother, “Let us designate a leader and let us return to Egypt.” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Numbers 14:1–4 All of the people of Israel began to talk and lift up their voices, talking to one another, and they are weeping as well throughout that entire night. They start to crystalize their platform, which they will present to Moses and Aaron. They talk it over, then they come to Moses and Aaron, first thing in the morning, and they says, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt or if only we could have died in the desert-wilderness. That would be so much better than how we feel right at this moment! And why is Jehovah bringing us into this land. Does He want to watch us all die in battle? Doesn’t He realize that our women and children will be taken in the spoils of war and violated in every way possible? Is the best thing for us to do is pack up and return to Egypt?” For a few minutes, they began to talk with one another, and they come up with a plan. “Let us select a leader and let us then return to Egypt.” (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so fall Moses and Aaron upon their faces to faces of all an assembly of a company of sons of Israel.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And when Moses and Aaron heard this, they fell down flat upon the ground before the multitude of the children of Israel.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Then Mosha and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the B'nai Yisrael.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And Moses and Aaron fell upon their face before all the congregation of the children of Israel.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Then Moses and Aaron went down on their faces before the meeting of the people.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Moses and Aaron bowed low to the ground in front of all the people gathered there.

God’s Word™                         Immediately, Moses and Aaron bowed with their faces touching the ground in front of the whole community of Israel assembled there.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Then Moses and Aaron bowed to the ground in front of all the people.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Moses and Aaron bowed down to pray in front of the crowd.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      Then Aaron and Moses bowed down to pray in front of all the Israelite people who had gathered there.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the entire assembled congregation of Israel.

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the face of all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

International Standard V        Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in front of the entire assembly of the congregation of Israel.

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    Then Moses and Aaron lay facedown before all the assembly of the community of the people of Israel.

Urim-Thummim Version         Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the entire gathering of the nation of Israel.

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the Israelite community.

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

Eth Cepher Bible                    Then Mosheh and Aharon fell on their faces before all the assembly of the multitude of the children of Yashar’el

.

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 Moses and Aaron feel on their faces before the whole assembled Israelite community.

The Scriptures–2009              Then Mosheh and Aharon fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Yisra’ěl.

Tree of Life Version                Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the entire assembly of the community of Bnei-Yisrael.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            .

Awful Scroll Bible                   Moses and Aaron were to cast themselves down turned before, a turning before the assembly, of the assembly of the sons of Contends-with-he-mighty!

Concordant Literal Version    .

exeGeses companion Bible   Then Mosheh and Aharon fall at the face

of all the congregation

of the witness of the sons of Yisra El:...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Then Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before Kol Kehal Adat Bnei Yisroel.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. Then did Moses and Aaron fall upon their faces,— before all the convocation of the assembly of the sons of Israel.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

International Standard V        .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before [Literally “in the presence of”] the assembly of the community of the Israelites. [Literally “sons/children of Israel”]

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 .

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Updated ASV                         .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            .

Context Group Version          .

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        And Moses falls—Aaron also—on their faces, before all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  .

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and Mosheh fell, and Aharon, upon their faces, to the face of all the assembly of the company of the sons of Yisra'eyl,...

Updated ASV                         The Good Report of Joshua and Caleb

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

Translation: So Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces...

Moses and Aaron are surrounded by angry Israelites. They fall on their faces before this mob.

Now, some translations suggest that they fall before the people in prayer. I don’t know that is what is taking place, but it is a possibility.

I don’t see this as prayer, but total submission, because Moses and Aaron find themselves in complete opposition to all Israel.

Translation: ...before the entire assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

There are two words here that we ought to take a quick look at. Qâhâl (קָהָל) [pronounced kaw-HAWL] means an organized assembly, a called convocation; this is not just a crowd of people milling about, but people who were assembled for a reason. Strong's #6951 BDB #874. ʿêdâh (עֵדָה) [pronounced ģā-DAWH] and this also means a company of people assembled together by appointment or a group of people acting together in concert. Strong's #5712 BDB #417. At this point in time, I do not know the difference between the two words.

Moses and Aaron have fallen down on their face before all of Israel. I believe that the way that this is expressed suggests that all Israel is behind the statements made and the plan put forth.

Although threats against Moses and Aaron have not been made, perhaps that is potentially next.

Numbers 14:5 So Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before the entire assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

What we have is an organized mob standing against Moses and Aaron. They are but two people and they are facing two million who have worked themselves into an irrational froth. You need to understand that mobs cannot think and they cannot reason. They do not behave rationally. All mob violence and mob action is unequivocally wrong. No matter what the circumstance, you should never, as a Christian, be involved in a union, a gang, a paramilitary group, a peace demonstration, a racial gathering or any other group when there is the slightest hint that things could erupt into violence. Union lines where obscenities are shouted and fists are being waved should be avoided. These people are not ready to listen to reason. They are ready to elect a new leader and do violence against Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron fall down before them.

Numbers 14:5 Therefore, Moses and Aaron both fell down on their faces before this angry mob, who represented all of the sons of Israel. (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————