And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses said, “Why now do you disobey the commandment of Yahweh, since it shall not prosper?
- BSB But Moses said, “Why are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD? This will not succeed!
- ESV But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed?
- NKJV And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed.
- NASB But Moses said, “Why then are you violating the command of the Lord, when doing so will not succeed?
- NLT But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the Lord’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 them that disobeying God's command would not succeed. Acting apart from God's word, even with good intentions, leads to failure.
Overview
Moses confronted the people's plan as fresh disobedience that could not prosper, since God had now told them to turn back. Their attempt to seize the blessing they had spurned defied the LORD just as their refusal had. Self-willed religion, however earnest, cannot succeed when it runs against God's revealed command.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Chr 24:20And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.
- Num 14:25(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
- Job 4:9By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
- Jer 2:37Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
- Jer 32:5And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
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 14:41 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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