Numbers 14:11

11 And the Lord said to Moses, How long shall this people backbite me, or mis-deem me? How long shall they not believe to me, in (spite of) all the signs which I have done before them? (And the Lord said to Moses, How long shall these people backbite me, or mis-judge me? How long shall they not believe me, or not trust in me, in spite of all the miracles which I have done before them?)

Numbers 14:11 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 14:11

And the Lord said unto Moses
Out of the cloud upon the tabernacle:

how long will this people provoke me?
which suggests that they had often provoked him, and had done it long ago, and still continued to do so; and he had long bore their provocations; but it was not reasonable, nor could it be expected by Moses or any other, that he would bear them much longer,

and how long will it be ere they believe me;
unbelief was a sin they had often and long been guilty of, and which greatly prevailed among them, and was the root of all their murmurings, mutiny, and rebellion; and what was highly provoking to the Lord, since they ought to have believed him, and that he was able to make good, and would make good his promises to them:

for all the signs which I have showed among them;
the wonders and miracles he had wrought in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, and in their sight; on account of which they should have given credit to his word, and which were strong aggravations of their unbelief; and is the true reason why they entered not into the good land, ( Hebrews 3:18 Hebrews 3:19 ) .

Numbers 14:11 In-Context

9 Do not ye rebel against the Lord, neither dread ye the people of this land, for we be able to devour them so as bread; all their help hath passed away from them, the Lord is with us, do not ye dread. (Do not ye rebel against the Lord, nor fear ye the people of this land, for we be able to eat them up like a piece of bread; all their help hath passed away from them, yea, the Lord is with us, do not ye fear.)
10 And when all the multitude cried (out), and would have oppressed them with stones, the glory of the Lord appeared upon the roof of the bond of peace, while all the sons of Israel saw. (But when all the multitude shouted, and would have killed them with stones, the glory of the Lord appeared over the Tabernacle of the Covenant, before all the Israelites.)
11 And the Lord said to Moses, How long shall this people backbite me, or mis-deem me? How long shall they not believe to me, in (spite of) all the signs which I have done before them? (And the Lord said to Moses, How long shall these people backbite me, or mis-judge me? How long shall they not believe me, or not trust in me, in spite of all the miracles which I have done before them?)
12 Therefore I shall smite them with pestilence, and I shall waste them; soothly I shall make thee prince upon a greater folk, and stronger than is this. (And so I shall strike them with a pestilence, or a plague, and I shall destroy them; and then I shall make thee the leader of a greater, and of a stronger, nation than these people be.)
13 And Moses said to the Lord, [The] Egyptians hear not, from whose middle thou leddest out this people, (And Moses said to the Lord, But then the Egyptians, from whose midst thou leddest out these people, shall hear of it,)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.