Don’t go up, for Yahweh isn’t among you; that you not be struck down before your enemies.
Parallel translations
- KJV Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.
- BSB Do not go up, lest you be struck down by your enemies, because the LORD is not among you.
- NKJV Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you.
- NASB Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.
- NLT Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you.
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 cautioned them not to go up, for the LORD was not among them and they would be defeated. God's presence, not Israel's resolve, was decisive for victory.
Overview
Moses warned that without the LORD's presence the people would fall before their enemies. Earlier they refused to advance when God was with them; now they presumed to advance when He was not. The lesson endures: success comes only when God goes with His people, never by human effort against His will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Deut 1:42Yahweh said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest you be struck before your enemies.’”
- Josh 7:8Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!
- Josh 7:12Therefore the children of Israel can’t stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
- Ps 44:1–11For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm. We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work you did in their days, in the days of old.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 14:42 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.