1
And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the peoplewept that night.
2
And all the children of Israelmurmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregationsaid unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
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And wherefore hath the LORDbrought 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?
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And they saidone to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
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Then Moses and Aaronfell on their facesbefore all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
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And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land,rent their clothes:
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And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel,saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding*goodland.
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If the LORDdelight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
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Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence[a] is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
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But all the congregationbadestone them with stones. And the glory of the LORDappeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
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And the LORDsaid unto Moses, How long will this peopleprovoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewedamong them?
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I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greaternation and mightier than they.
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And Mosessaid unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
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And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seenface to face, and that thy cloudstandeth over them, and that thou goestbefore them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
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Now if thou shalt kill all this people as oneman, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
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Because the LORD was notable to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
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And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
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The LORD is longsuffering*, and of greatmercy,forgivinginiquity and transgression, and by no meansclearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
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Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
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And the LORDsaid, I have pardoned according to thy word:
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But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
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Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted* me now these tentimes, and have not hearkened to my voice;
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Surely they shall notsee the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
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But my servantCaleb,because he had anotherspirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
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(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanitesdwelt in the valley.) To morrowturn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Redsea.
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And the LORDspake unto Moses and unto Aaron,saying,
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How long shall I bear with this evilcongregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
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Say unto them, As truly as I live,saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
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Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twentyyearsold and upward, which have murmured against me,
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Doubtless ye shall notcome into the land, concerning which I sware[b]* to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
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But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
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But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
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And your children shall wander[c] in the wildernessfortyyears, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
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After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even fortydays, each day for a year**, shall ye bear your iniquities, even fortyyears, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
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I the LORD have said, I will surely*doit unto all this evilcongregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
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And the men, which Mosessent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
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Even thosemen that did bring up the evilreport upon the land,died by the plaguebefore the LORD.
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But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the menthatwent to search the land,lived still.
39
And Mosestold these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the peoplemournedgreatly.
40
And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain,saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.
41
And Mosessaid, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.
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Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smittenbefore your enemies.
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For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turnedaway from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.
44
But they presumed to go up unto the hilltop: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses,departed not out of the camp.
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Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.