Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
Parallel translations
- WEB Now if you killed this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of you will speak, saying,
- BSB If You kill this people as one man, the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,
- NKJV Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying,
- NASB Now if You put this people to death all at once, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,
- NLT Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses warned that destroying Israel as one man would prompt the nations to question God. He continued building his case around God's reputation.
Overview
Moses pressed that wiping out the whole people at once would give the nations occasion to slander the LORD. His concern was that God's name not be dishonored among those who had heard of His fame. The argument reveals a heart aligned with God's own concern for His glory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Judg 6:16And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 14:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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