American Standard Version
Numbers 14:4
4And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
Numbers 14:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
- New International Version (NIV)And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
Context of Numbers 14:4
2And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3And wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. 5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. 6And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of them that spied out the land, rent their clothes:
Read all of Numbers 14Numbers 14:4 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אָחִ֑יו נִתְּנָ֥ה רֹ֖אשׁ וְנָשׁ֥וּבָה מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Numbers 14:4
- Deuteronomy 17:16Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; forasmuch as Jehovah hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
- Deuteronomy 28:68And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
- Nehemiah 9:16But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
- Luke 17:32Remember Lot’s wife.
- Acts 7:39to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt,
- Hebrews 10:38But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him.
- Hebrews 11:15And if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.
- 2 Peter 2:21For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
Commentaries on Numbers 14:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Let us make a captain - Here was a formal renunciation of the authority of Moses, and flat rebellion against God. And it seems from Nehemiah 9:17; that they had actually appointed another leader, under whose direction they were about to return to Egypt. How astonishing is this! Their lives were made bitter, because of the rigor with which they were made to serve in the land of Egypt; and yet they are willing, yea eager, to get back into the same…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4The threats they complained about were real, but the Israelites should have trusted the Lord. In the ancient Near East, victors often took wives and children as plunder after battles. go back to Egypt: The Israelites quickly forgot their slavery and the difficulties of the wilderness (Exodus 2:23–24; Numbers 11:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-42-4. Would God that we had died in Egypt--Such insolence to their generous leaders, and such base ingratitude to God, show the deep degradation of the Israelites, and the absolute necessity of the decree that debarred that generation from entering the promised land [Nu 14:29-35]. They were punished by their wishes being granted to die in that wilderness [He 3:17; Jude 5]. A leader to reconduct them to Egypt is spoken of (Ne 9:17) as actually nominated…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 14:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries