The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the Lord with their bad report—
Parallel translations
- WEB The men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land,
- KJV And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
- BSB So the men Moses had sent to spy out the land, who had returned and made the whole congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report about the land—
- NKJV Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land,
- NASB As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and led all the congregation to grumble against him by bringing a bad report about the land,
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
The narrative recalls the spies who incited the congregation's murmuring with their evil report. Their leadership in unbelief brought special accountability.
Overview
This verse identifies the ten spies as the instigators who turned the whole community against God through their slanderous report. Those who lead others into sin bear heightened responsibility. God singles out the ringleaders for immediate judgment, distinguishing their guilt from that of the misled.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Num 13:31–33But the men who went up with him said, “We aren’t able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”
- Num 13:4–16These were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 14:36 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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