Numbers 14:41 kjv
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.
Numbers 14:41 nkjv
And Moses said, "Now why do you transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed.
Numbers 14:41 niv
But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed!
Numbers 14:41 esv
But Moses said, "Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed?
Numbers 14:41 nlt
But Moses said, "Why are you now disobeying the LORD's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work.
Numbers 14 41 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 1:43 | So I spoke to you, but you would not listen...presumed to go up... | Israel's presumptuous act from Deuteronomy's perspective. |
| Num 14:42-45 | Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you...The Amalekites...struck them. | Immediate fulfillment of Moses' warning; direct consequence. |
| 1 Sam 15:22-23 | To obey is better than sacrifice...rebellion is as the sin of divination. | Emphasizes the supreme importance of obedience over human initiatives. |
| Prov 16:25 | There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. | Warning against following self-deceptive paths, not God's leading. |
| Isa 30:1-3 | "Ah, stubborn children," declares the Lord, "who carry out a plan, but not mine. | God rebukes Israel for acting without His counsel and relying on human strength. |
| Jer 7:23-24 | But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice...’ But they did not obey. | Recurrence of Israel's pattern of disobedience to God's voice. |
| Psa 127:1 | Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build labor in vain. | Illustrates the futility of human effort without divine blessing/command. |
| Matt 4:7 | "Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’" | Jesus quotes Deut 6:16, applicable to Israel's action as testing God. |
| Heb 3:7-11 | Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. | New Testament warning against repeating the unbelief of the wilderness generation. |
| Heb 4:1 | Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands...lest anyone should seem to have failed to reach it. | Continues the warning of falling short due to disobedience and unbelief. |
| Psa 78:17-18 | Yet they sinned still more against him...testing God in their heart. | Israel's continual testing and provoking of God in the wilderness. |
| Prov 1:24-26 | Because I have called and you refused...I also will laugh at your calamity. | God's response to those who scorn His counsel and refuse His way. |
| John 15:5 | Apart from Me you can do nothing. | Jesus' teaching on the necessity of abiding in Him for fruitful action. |
| Rom 1:18 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. | General principle of divine judgment against human disobedience. |
| Gen 3:17 | Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree... | First example of direct disobedience leading to cursed outcomes. |
| Deut 8:2 | And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you...to humble you, testing you. | God's intention in the wilderness was for Israel to learn obedience. |
| 2 Chron 25:15-16 | Amaziah...commanded him to stop...why would you worship these foreign gods? | King Amaziah's foolish presumption despite God's warning, leading to destruction. |
| Jer 42:5-7, 13-17 | ...the word of the LORD their God...they presumed...going into Egypt. | Reminds of Israel's tendency to reject God's word and follow self-will. |
| Luke 11:28 | Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it! | Highlights that true blessedness comes from hearing and obeying. |
| Psa 66:18 | If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. | Emphasizes that unconfessed sin and presumption hinder divine blessing. |
| Zech 7:11-12 | But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder... | Illustrates persistent rejection of God's law and word. |
| Jas 4:17 | So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. | Knowing God's will and acting contrary to it is sin. |
| Matt 7:26-27 | Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man... | Building on an unstable foundation by not obeying Jesus' words. |
| Titus 1:16 | They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. | Discrepancy between profession and actions, denying God through disobedience. |
Numbers 14 verses
Numbers 14 41 Meaning
Numbers 14:41 captures Moses' stern rebuke to the Israelites after they, hearing their fate of forty years in the wilderness, presumed to invade the Promised Land despite God's explicit command that they were not to go up. Moses clarifies that this self-initiated venture is a direct "transgression of the command of the Lord," and unequivocally warns them that such an endeavor, contrary to God's will, "will not succeed" or prosper. It highlights the futility and assured failure of any action undertaken against God's direct instruction.
Numbers 14 41 Context
Numbers chapter 14 describes a pivotal and tragic turning point in Israel's wilderness journey. Following the spies' pessimistic report of the Promised Land (Ch. 13), the Israelites erupted in faithless rebellion, proposing to stone Caleb and Joshua and appoint a new leader to return to Egypt. God's fury was ignited, and He threatened to disinherit them. Moses' heartfelt intercession averted immediate destruction, but God pronounced a judgment: the entire adult generation (those 20 years and older who disbelieved) would perish in the wilderness over forty years, unable to enter Canaan. Only Caleb and Joshua would enter. Upon hearing this decree, the people feigned repentance and declared, "We have sinned!"—but their subsequent action was not true submission. Instead, driven by presumptuous remorse and a misunderstanding of repentance, they resolved to go up and take the land immediately, despite God's express declaration, communicated by Moses, that He was no longer among them for such an endeavor. Numbers 14:41 is Moses' final, desperate warning against this audacious and ill-fated self-willed charge into battle, which explicitly defied God's recently stated punishment and new instructions.
Numbers 14 41 Word analysis
- But Moses said: Hebrew: "וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה" (vayyo'mer Moshe). This establishes Moses as God's designated messenger, giving authoritative divine instruction and warning.
- Why then: Hebrew: "לָמָּה זֶּה" (lammah zeh). An interrogative phrase conveying exasperation, astonishment, and stern rebuke. It highlights the irrationality and foolishness of their immediate action after a clear divine decree.
- are you transgressing: Hebrew: "אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים" (attem 'ovrim), from the root עָבַר (abar), meaning "to pass over," "to cross over," and by extension, "to transgress," "to violate." This emphasizes their deliberate and active violation of a clear boundary or command set by God.
- the command of the Lord: Hebrew: "אֶת־פִּי יְהוָה" ('et-pi YHWH), literally "the mouth of Yahweh." This highly significant phrase signifies a direct, explicit, and personal word or decree from God. It underscores the ultimate authority behind the command they were violating. It wasn't a general principle but a specific instruction directly from God Himself.
- when that will not succeed?: Hebrew: "וְהִיא לֹא תִצְלָח" (vehi lo' titzlach). This is a powerful and direct prophecy of failure.
- וְהִיא (vehi): "and it/she," referring to their intended action.
- לֹא (lo'): a strong negation, "not."
- תִצְלָח (titzlach): from the root צָלַח (tsalach), meaning "to rush," "to succeed," "to prosper," "to be fortunate." Its use here emphatically states that their unauthorized attempt to invade would not only fail but also would not experience any form of divine blessing or favor. God would not prosper an act of disobedience.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "Why then are you transgressing the command of the Lord": This phrase directly addresses the Israelites' action as rebellion against a personal and direct divine decree. It exposes their fundamental spiritual issue: rejecting God's word when it goes against their immediate desires or self-determined strategies, despite knowing its origin.
- "when that will not succeed": This outcome clause emphasizes the inherent futility and doom of acting outside God's will. It asserts God's sovereignty; success comes from His blessing and command, not from human determination or might applied in defiance of His word. It's a divine guarantee of failure for their presumptuous expedition.
Numbers 14 41 Bonus section
The incident in Numbers 14:41 and the subsequent defeat of the Israelites by the Amalekites and Canaanites (Num 14:44-45) stands as a foundational biblical example of "presumption" or "presumptuous sin." Presumption differs from outright rebellion in that it often tries to do something for God or about God's will, but in a way not authorized by God. It’s a dangerous form of self-confidence that assumes God's blessing will accompany human initiative even when it deviates from divine instruction. This episode deeply informed later biblical thought about obedience, the dangers of a hard heart, and the absolute necessity of God's presence and command for success. It reinforces that divine grace, though offered and present, does not condone self-appointed missions contrary to a declared command.
Numbers 14 41 Commentary
Numbers 14:41 serves as a stark warning against self-willed zeal that masquerades as repentance but is, in fact, continued rebellion. The Israelites' "We have sinned!" (v. 40) was a superficial lament over the consequences of their sin (not entering the land), rather than genuine grief over the sin itself (unbelief and challenging God's authority). Their subsequent decision to attack Canaan unilaterally demonstrates that their hearts remained stubborn and defiant. They attempted to seize through their own power what God had explicitly denied them at that moment. Moses' prophetic warning "it will not succeed" highlights a crucial biblical truth: any human endeavor undertaken in direct defiance of God's explicit word is doomed to failure, regardless of its apparent noble intention or the human effort invested. True prosperity and blessing stem only from humble obedience and reliance on God's will and timing. This passage powerfully teaches that selective or presumptuous obedience is no obedience at all, and it ultimately earns God's disfavor and inevitable failure.