Numbers 14:33 kjv
And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:33 nkjv
And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:33 niv
Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:33 esv
And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:33 nlt
And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.
Numbers 14 33 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 14:29 | "Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness...you shall not come into the land I swore..." | Direct judgment on the rebellious generation. |
| Num 14:34 | "...forty years, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity." | Explains the basis of the forty-year period. |
| Num 32:13 | "So the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness..." | Links wilderness wandering directly to God's anger. |
| Deut 1:35 | "...not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land..." | Reiteration of the exclusion of the adult generation. |
| Deut 2:14 | "And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years..." | Historical fulfillment leading to the new generation. |
| Deut 8:2 | "And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness..." | Wilderness as a place of testing and instruction. |
| Josh 5:6 | "For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness..." | Historical account confirming the duration. |
| Ps 95:10-11 | "For forty years I loathed that generation and said, 'They are a people who go astray...'" | Reiterates divine displeasure and the cause of unbelief. |
| 1 Cor 10:5-10 | "Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness." | Paul's warning, uses Israel as an example of judgment. |
| Heb 3:17-19 | "And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned...because of unbelief?" | Explicitly links the forty years to divine wrath and unbelief. |
| Heb 4:1-11 | "...since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it." | Spiritual application of Israel's failure to Christian perseverance. |
| Exod 34:7 | "...visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." | Principle of generational consequences, not guilt. |
| Exod 16:35 | "The people of Israel ate the manna forty years..." | God's provision throughout the wilderness period. |
| Neh 9:21 | "Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing..." | God's continued faithfulness despite their rebellion. |
| Ezek 20:13 | "But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness..." | Highlights Israel's persistent rebellion even then. |
| Jer 2:1-2 | "...I remember the devotion of your youth...following me in the wilderness..." | Wilderness also remembered as a time of early devotion. |
| Amos 5:25 | "Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings...for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?" | Questions their true worship during the period. |
| Hos 9:10 | "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-fruits on the fig tree. But they came to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved." | Illustrates spiritual "whoredom" against God. |
| Num 26:64-65 | "But among these there was not one of the men whom Moses and Aaron the priest had numbered..." | Fulfilled prophecy of the original generation dying off. |
| Gal 6:7 | "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." | General principle of consequences for actions. |
| Ps 78:40-41 | "How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!" | Describes their repeated grieving of God in the wilderness. |
| Isa 63:10 | "But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit..." | Direct connection between rebellion and grieving the Spirit. |
| Judg 2:1-3 | "...Therefore I will not any longer drive out before you any of the nations... they shall be a snare to you." | God's response to their disobedience leading to later trials. |
| Mal 3:6 | "For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." | God's unchanging faithfulness prevents utter destruction. |
Numbers 14 verses
Numbers 14 33 Meaning
Numbers 14:33 declares God's judgment upon the rebellious generation of Israelites who, out of fear and unbelief, refused to enter the Promised Land. As a direct consequence of their disobedience, their children were condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years, serving as a period of divine discipline and their "bearing" the burden of their parents' profound spiritual disloyalty, metaphorically termed "whoredoms." This long period of wandering would continue relentlessly until every adult member of that faithless generation had perished, their bodies consumed by the wilderness, ensuring they would never experience the land of promise.
Numbers 14 33 Context
Numbers chapter 14 culminates a crisis ignited by the report of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. Ten spies delivered a terrifying report of unconquerable giants and fortified cities, overriding the faithful and encouraging report of Joshua and Caleb. Overwhelmed by fear and a lack of trust in God, the Israelite community erupted in widespread lamentation and open rebellion, advocating for a return to Egypt and even threatening to stone their divinely appointed leaders. This act was a direct rejection of God's power and His promised inheritance. In response, God's wrath flared, and though Moses interceded, a severe decree was issued: the adult generation of rebels, aged twenty and older, would not enter the Promised Land. Numbers 14:33 specifically details a significant aspect of this judgment, outlining the prolonged suffering of the children due to their parents' apostasy and the ultimate demise of the faithless adults in the wilderness.
Numbers 14 33 Word analysis
- And your children (וְטַפְּכֶם, wetapekhem): Refers to the segment of the population aged under twenty years at the time of the rebellion (Num 14:29). They are innocent of their parents' direct acts of unbelief but bear the harsh physical and experiential consequences of it, demonstrating the ripple effect of sin through a community.
- shall wander (יִרְעוּ, yir’u): Derived from the Hebrew root ra'ah (רעה), primarily meaning "to shepherd" or "to graze." Here, it signifies "to wander aimlessly" or "to roam," implying a circuitous and arduous journey enforced by divine decree, rather than a direct, guided path to their destination.
- in the wilderness (בַּמִּדְבָּר, bamidbar): A literal geographic desert. Theologically, it represents a place of testing, desolation, and purification, serving as the setting for both their punitive judgment and the shaping of a new generation. It signifies exclusion from the promised land of rest.
- forty years (אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, arba'im shanah): A significant symbolic and literal duration in the Bible, frequently representing a period of judgment, testing, or the lifespan of a generation. It directly parallels the forty days the spies spent in Canaan, enacting a punitive "year for a day" measure (Num 14:34).
- and bear (וְנָשְׂאוּ, wenase'u): From the root nasa (נשא), meaning "to carry," "to lift," "to endure," or "to suffer." The children "bear" the consequence or the punishment (i.e., the forced wilderness journey) for their parents' actions, not necessarily inheriting their personal guilt but experiencing the collective judgment.
- your whoredoms (אֶת־זְנוּתֵיכֶם, 'et-z'nutekhem): From the root zanah (זנה), literally meaning "to commit harlotry." Biblically, it is profoundly used metaphorically for spiritual unfaithfulness, idolatry, and covenant disloyalty towards God. Here, it describes the parents' rejection of God's promises, their rebellion, and their desire to return to Egypt as ultimate acts of spiritual adultery against their covenant Lord.
- until your carcasses (עַד־תֻּם, 'ad-tum): Literally "until the end" or "until the completion." The term "carcasses" (פֶּגֶר, peger) implies lifeless, discarded bodies, emphasizing the undignified and complete demise of the rebellious adults. It points to a finality of judgment upon that condemned generation.
- are consumed (נִתֻּמּוּ, nittumu): The verb signifies being "finished," "perished," or "worn out." It means their physical presence will completely cease within the wilderness; none will remain. This highlights the thorough and unsparing nature of God's judgment against their unfaithfulness.
- in the wilderness (בַּמִּדְבָּר, bamidbar): Repetition of the location to emphasize the inescapable reality that their demise would occur within this barren landscape of judgment, confining them to the consequences of their rebellion until the very end.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "And your children shall wander...forty years": This segment highlights the divinely appointed, prolonged period of consequence that directly impacts the innocent generation. It signifies that the journey would be one of disciplined wandering, marked by time corresponding to their parents' sin, preparing them for future obedience.
- "and bear your whoredoms": This phrase assigns the root cause of the prolonged judgment. It's the parents' spiritual disloyalty—their utter betrayal of the covenant with God—that brings about this punitive wandering. The children effectively "carry" the burden and endure the physical consequences of this profound unfaithfulness, even if not guilty of the "whoredom" themselves.
- "until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness": This sets a grim temporal boundary for the suffering of the children: it will last until the complete eradication of the defiant adult generation. It vividly underscores the finality of the judgment upon the rebellious, demonstrating that they would meet their demise in the wilderness, outside the promised land they had spurned.
Numbers 14 33 Bonus section
The concept of "generational consequences" in this verse, where the children endure suffering due to the parents' "whoredoms," is a critical biblical principle. It does not imply that God holds the children guilty for the parents' sins, as explicitly stated in passages like Ezekiel 18:20. Rather, it illustrates the profound corporate reality within a covenant community, where the actions of one generation directly impact the environment, opportunities, and experiences of the next. The wilderness experience served as a "crucible" not only to punish the old generation but also to transform and prepare a new, humble, and obedient people. This protracted period ensured that by the time Israel entered Canaan, it would be composed of individuals who had witnessed God's judgment firsthand and experienced His miraculous sustenance daily, ideally fostering deep faith and dependence. This divine strategy ultimately preserved God's covenant lineage, demonstrating His mercy intertwined with His justice.
Numbers 14 33 Commentary
Numbers 14:33 is a powerful testament to the severity of God's judgment on unbelief and direct rebellion against His divine will. It unequivocally states that persistent sin incurs heavy, far-reaching consequences that ripple beyond the immediate perpetrators, impacting even subsequent generations. The "forty years" in the wilderness represents not merely a prolonged journey but a divinely ordained period of purification and punishment, during which the unfaithful generation would systematically die out. The "whoredoms" here signify their profound spiritual unfaithfulness to God's covenant, manifesting as distrust and grumbling against His plan. While the children bore the consequences of this sin, not its personal guilt, this period forged a new generation conditioned by reliance on God alone, poised to eventually inherit the promised land, demonstrating God's unwavering faithfulness to His covenant promises, even through acts of severe discipline.