Num 14, Num 16-17, 21:1-6, Num 25, Eze 20:13 | ESV | STEP | Then all the congregation raised a loud cry , and the people wept that night .

1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people ^awept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel ^bgrumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or ^cwould that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? ^dOur wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, ^e“Let us choose a leader and ^fgo back to Egypt.”

5 Then ^gMoses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 ^hAnd Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ⁱ“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If ^jthe Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^ka land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only ^ldo not rebel against the Lord. And ^mdo not fear the people of the land, for ⁿthey are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 ^oThen all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But ^pthe glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people ^qdespise me? And how long will they not ^rbelieve in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I ^swill make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

13 But ^tMoses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. ^uThey have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and ^vyour cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord ^wwas not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ^x‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, ^yvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please ^zpardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ^aaas you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

God Promises Judgment

20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, ^abaccording to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all ^acthe earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 ^adnone of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ^aeten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 ^afshall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant ^agCaleb, because he has a different spirit and has ^ahfollowed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 ^aiNow, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, ^ajturn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall ^akthis wicked congregation grumble against me? ^alI have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ^am‘As I live, declares the Lord, ^anwhat you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 ^aoyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and ^apof all your number, listed in the census ^aqfrom twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I ^arswore that I would make you dwell, ^asexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 ^atBut your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that ^auyou have rejected. 32 But as for you, ^avyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children ^awshall be shepherds in the wilderness ^axforty years and shall ^aysuffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 ^azAccording to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^baforty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 ^bbI, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all ^bcthis wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

36 ^bdAnd the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land— ^bedied by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, ^bfonly Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Israel Defeated in Battle

39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people ^bgmourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, ^bh“Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 ^biBut Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 ^bjDo not go up, ^bkfor the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there ^blthe Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 ^bmBut they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither ^bnthe ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then ^bothe Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to ^bpHormah.

Numbers 16

Korah’s Rebellion

1 Now ^bqKorah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and ^brDathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 ^bsThey assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, ^bt“You have gone too far! For ^buall in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, ^bvhe fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show ^bwwho is his, ^{▼▼Septuagint The Lord knows those who are his} and who is ^byholy, and will bring him near to him. The one ^bzwhom he chooses he will ^cabring near to him. 6 Do this: take ^cbcensers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. ^ccYou have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it ^cdtoo small a thing for you that the God of Israel has ^ceseparated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is ^cfAaron that you grumble against him?”

12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it ^cga small thing that you have brought us up out of ^cha land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also ^cimake yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, ^cj“Do not respect their offering. ^ckI have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”

16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, ^clbefore the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And ^cmlet every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, ^cn250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^coAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 ^cp“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them ^cqin a moment.” 22 And they ^crfell on their faces and said, “O God, ^csthe God of the spirits of all flesh, ^ctshall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, ^cu“Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood ^cvat the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been ^cwof my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, ^cxthen the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and ^cythe ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^czgo down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”

31 ^daAnd as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and ^dball the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and ^dcthey perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And ^ddfire came out from the Lord and consumed ^dethe 250 men offering the incense.

36 ^{▼▼Ch 17:1 in Hebrew} Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers of ^dgthese men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. ^dhThus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so ^dithat no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses.

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel ^djgrumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, ^dkthe cloud covered it, and ^dlthe glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 ^dm“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” ^dnAnd they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for ^dowrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and ^dpthe plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, ^dqbesides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

Numbers 17

Aaron’s Staff Buds

1 ^{▼▼Ch 17:16 in Hebrew} The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 ^ds“Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. Write each man’s name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house. 4 Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, ^dtwhere I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man ^duwhom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me ^dvthe grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” 6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. 7 And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in ^dwthe tent of the testimony.

8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back ^dxthe staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept ^dyas a sign for the rebels, ^dzthat you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 ^eaEveryone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”

Numbers 21:1-6

Arad Destroyed

1 When ^ebthe Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in ^ecthe Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 ^edAnd Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verse 3} 3 And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called ^efHormah. ^{▼▼ Hormah means destruction}

The Bronze Serpent

4 From Mount Hor ^ehthey set out by the way to the Red Sea, ^eito go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people ^ejspoke against God and against Moses, ^ek“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ^elwe loathe this worthless food.” 6 ^emThen the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and ^enthey bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.

Numbers 25

Baal Worship at Peor

1 While Israel lived in ^eoShittim, ^epthe people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 ^eqThese invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, ^er“Take all the chiefs of the people and ^eshang ^{▼▼Or impale} them in the sun before the Lord, ^euthat the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to ^evthe judges of Israel, ^ew“Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were ^exweeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 ^eyWhen Phinehas ^ezthe son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, ^fathose who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

The Zeal of Phinehas

10 And the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he ^fbwas jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in ^fcmy jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ^fd‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to ^fehis descendants after him the covenant of ^ffa perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of ^fgZur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian.

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 ^fh“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their ^fiwiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of ^fjPeor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”

Ezekiel 20:13

13 ^fkBut the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^flThey did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^fmand my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^fn“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.