Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
- BSB Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel.
- NKJV Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
- NASB Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.
- NLT Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel.
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 and Aaron fell on their faces before the assembly in humble intercession or grief. Their posture contrasts sharply with the people's defiance.
Overview
Facedown before the congregation, Moses and Aaron displayed humility and likely pleaded with God amid the crisis. Their submission stands against the people's proud rebellion. Moses repeatedly intercedes in Numbers, prefiguring Christ, the greater Mediator who stands between a sinful people and a holy God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Num 16:4And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
- Num 16:22And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
- Num 16:45Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
- Ezek 9:8And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
- Josh 5:14And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
- 1 Chr 21:16And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
- Gen 17:3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
- Lev 9:24And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
- Dan 10:9Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
- 1 Kgs 18:39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
- Josh 7:10And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
- Rev 4:10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
- Matt 26:39And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
- Rev 7:11And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
- Rev 5:14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
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 14:5 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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