Numbers 14:39 kjv
And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
Numbers 14:39 nkjv
Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.
Numbers 14:39 niv
When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.
Numbers 14:39 esv
When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly.
Numbers 14:39 nlt
When Moses reported the LORD's words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief.
Numbers 14 39 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 14:28-35 | Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, just as you have spoken in my hearing, so will I do to you… Surely you shall not come into the land… Except Caleb… and Joshua… Your little ones… I will bring in… Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness…’ | Immediate context: God's specific judgment. |
| Deut 1:34-36 | "And the Lord heard the sound of your words… he swore, saying, ‘Not one of these men… shall see the good land… except Caleb… and Joshua…'" | Moses reiterates God's oath of exclusion. |
| Psa 95:10-11 | "For forty years I loathed that generation and said, ‘They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they do not know my ways.’ Therefore I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’" | God's perspective on their forty years, anger. |
| Heb 3:7-11 | "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness… Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."'" | Echoes Psa 95; warning against unbelief. |
| Heb 3:16-19 | "Who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." | Unbelief as the core reason for exclusion. |
| Deut 34:1-5 | Moses sees the land but dies outside, a consequence linked to Kadesh. | The consequence extends even to Moses for disobedience. |
| Exo 33:4 | When the people heard this evil news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. | Similar collective mourning, specifically after hearing God might not go with them. |
| Neh 9:16-17 | "But they and our fathers acted proudly, hardened their necks, and did not obey your commandments… and made a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt." | Israelites' persistent rebellion and desire to return. |
| Prov 29:1 | "He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing." | Illustrates the severity of persistent disobedience. |
| Rom 1:21 | For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. | Connection to knowing God but failing to obey Him. |
| Jer 2:19 | "Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God…" | Emphasizes the bitter consequences of forsaking God. |
| Amos 8:10 | "I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation…" | Prophecy of divine judgment leading to widespread sorrow. |
| 2 Chr 6:29-30 | "If any man or all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own sorrow, shall spread out his hands toward this house… then hear from heaven… and forgive… and give to everyone according to all his ways…" | Context of recognizing personal affliction and sorrow. |
| Ezra 10:1 | While Ezra was praying, and making confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. | Example of profound, widespread weeping due to sin. |
| Joel 1:8 | "Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth." | A call to intense mourning due to divine judgment. |
| 2 Cor 7:10 | "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." | Distinguishes between true (godly) sorrow for sin and regret over consequences (worldly sorrow), which is seen here. |
| Matt 8:12 | "…while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." | Illustrates the ultimate consequence of exclusion and bitter regret. |
| Gen 6:6 | "The Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart." | God's sorrow, a contrast to human, often superficial, sorrow. |
| Job 2:12-13 | "And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great." | Depicts extreme outward signs of mourning. |
| Psa 30:5 | "…weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." | Recognition that weeping can be a temporary state. |
Numbers 14 verses
Numbers 14 39 Meaning
Numbers 14:39 describes the profound grief of the Israelites upon hearing the divine judgment for their rebellion and unbelief. After Moses conveyed God's pronouncement that the disbelieving generation would perish in the wilderness and not enter the Promised Land, the entire assembly reacted with deep sorrow and lament. This immediate emotional response signifies their realization of the severe consequences of their actions and the forfeiture of their divinely promised inheritance.
Numbers 14 39 Context
Numbers Chapter 14 chronicles the critical turning point in Israel's wilderness journey following the spies' return from Canaan. Ten of the twelve spies gave a fearful report, demoralizing the people and causing them to disbelieve God's ability to deliver the land into their hands. This widespread fear escalated into outright rebellion: the people openly threatened to stone Caleb and Joshua (who gave a positive report) and wished to appoint a new leader to return to Egypt. God's fierce anger ignited, and He threatened to destroy the nation with a plague. Moses interceded on their behalf, appealing to God's character and glory among the nations. While God relented from complete destruction, He nevertheless decreed that the generation who grumbled and disbelieved—all those aged twenty and older, save Joshua and Caleb—would die in the wilderness over the next forty years, one year for each day the spies explored the land. Numbers 14:39 directly follows this pronouncement, detailing the immediate and impactful emotional reaction of the Israelites as Moses delivered God's unalterable judgment.
Numbers 14 39 Word analysis
- And when Moses told (וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה, vay'dabber Mosheh): "Told" (from the Hebrew verb dabar) is a strong term often used for divinely commissioned speech or declaration, indicating Moses was communicating God's authoritative word, not his own opinion. His role as the intermediary for God's judgment is emphasized.
- these words (אֶת-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, et-ha-devarim ha'elleh): Refers specifically to the dire consequences pronounced in Num 14:28-35: the forty years of wandering, the death of the adult generation in the wilderness, and the certainty of their exclusion from the Promised Land. These were not light words but a divine sentence.
- to all the children of Israel (אֶל-כָּל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, el-kol-benei Yisra'el): This emphasizes that the judgment and the subsequent reaction involved the entire congregation, indicating the widespread nature of both the rebellion and its sorrowful outcome. The collective responsibility and shared destiny are highlighted.
- the people mourned greatly (וַיִּתְאַבְּלוּ מְאֹד הָעָם, vayyit'abbeloo m'od ha'am):
- Mourned (וַיִּתְאַבְּלוּ, vayyit'abbeloo, from the Hebrew verb abal): This verb is in the Hitpa'el stem, suggesting an active, intense, and often outward display of mourning or lamentation. It implies a public and collective expression of grief, similar to the customs of sitting in ashes or wearing sackcloth. It reflects deep personal or communal distress.
- greatly (מְאֹד, m'od): This adverb intensifies the meaning of "mourned," signifying a profound and severe degree of sorrow. It indicates their lament was not superficial but deeply felt, suggesting the crushing weight of the divine verdict had fully landed on them.
- Words-group analysis:
- "Moses told...the people mourned": This highlights the immediate cause-and-effect. God's pronouncement through Moses directly triggered the profound sorrow of the people. It emphasizes the power of God's revealed word to bring about realization and emotional response, whether repentance or despair.
- "all the children of Israel...mourned greatly": The universality and intensity of the mourning underscore the national catastrophe. This wasn't a partial reaction; it engulfed the entire disbelieving generation, making it a pivotal moment in their collective journey. It also subtly prepares the reader for the continuing narrative of their journey, framed by this judgment.
Numbers 14 39 Bonus section
The deep mourning described here serves as a contrast to their subsequent actions. Despite their great sorrow, it was not genuine, transformative repentance leading to obedience. Immediately following this verse, in Numbers 14:40-45, the very same people presumptuously attempted to ascend to the Promised Land against God's direct command through Moses, revealing that their initial lament was short-lived and superficial. They grieved the consequences, but not the sin itself, indicating a hard-heartedness that persisted even after such a crushing revelation. This pattern illustrates a crucial theological point: true sorrow for sin leads to repentance and humility, while regret over consequences, without turning from sin, leads to further disobedience and folly. Their actions highlighted the distinction between the pain of punishment and the healing power of repentance, underscoring why they would, indeed, perish in the wilderness.
Numbers 14 39 Commentary
Numbers 14:39 concisely captures the Israelite community's devastated response to God's irrevocable judgment. Their mourning was a visceral reaction to the loss of a tangible, promised inheritance, rather than necessarily an act of true repentance over their sin of unbelief and rebellion. It was a "worldly grief" as opposed to a "godly grief," stemming from self-pity and regret over consequences, not contrition over having dishonored God. The intensity of their sorrow, described as "mourned greatly," confirms they fully comprehended the severe implications of their defiance and the harsh fate now awaiting them: wandering in the desolate wilderness until an entire generation perished. This moment encapsulates the profound weight of disobedience to a holy and faithful God, whose promises are always fulfilled, even those of judgment.