Numbers 14:7-24

7Joshua and Caleb said to all the Israelites, ‘The land that we travelled through to explore is a very good land.

8If the Lord is happy with us, he will bring us into this land. And he will give it to us. In that land there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone.

9But do not refuse to obey the Lord. Do not be afraid of the people in that land. They are ready for us to fight against them and win! They have no place to hide! The Lord is with us to help us. So do not be afraid of them.’

10Then all the people wanted to throw stones at Joshua and Caleb to kill them. But the glory of the Lord appeared over the Tent of Meeting. All the Israelites could see that.

11The Lord said to Moses, ‘These people continue to turn away from me. I did great miracles to show them my power. But still they will not trust me.

12I will send a disease to kill them. They will not get any of the good things that I wanted to give to them. Then I will make you, Moses, the ancestor of a nation greater and more powerful than they are.’

13Moses said to the Lord, ‘Please do not do that! You used your great power to bring these people out of Egypt. If you destroy them, the Egyptians will hear about it.

14Then they will tell the people who live in this land about it. They know that you, Lord, are among your people. They know that you meet with your people. They know that your cloud stays over them. They know that you lead them as a pillar of cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire during the night.

15The people in other nations have heard of your power. So now, if you kill all your people together, the people in those nations will say,

16“The Lord could not bring those people into the land that he had seriously promised to give to them. So he killed all of them in the desert.”

17But now, I pray that you will show how powerful you are. You yourself have said,

18“The Lord does not quickly become angry. His faithful love for his people continues for ever. He forgives people when they turn against him and they do bad things. But if someone is guilty, he surely punishes them. And he punishes their children, their grandchildren and their grandchildren's children.”

19So please forgive the very bad thing that these people have done. Do that because your faithful love is so great. You have forgiven these people since they left Egypt until now. So please be kind and forgive them again now.’

20Then the Lord said, ‘I have forgiven them as you asked me to do.

21As surely as I live, and all the earth will be full of my glory, I tell you this.

22All these people have seen my glory. They have seen the miracles that I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they have tested me many times now to see if I would punish them. They still do not obey me.

23So I tell you, none of them will ever see the land that I promised to give to their ancestors. None of those men who did not trust me will see that place.

24But my servant Caleb has thought differently, and he has obeyed me completely. So I will bring him into the land that he explored. It will belong to his descendants.