Numbers 14:41
in Numbers 14But Moses said, “Why are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD? This will not succeed!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah, seeing it shall not prosper?
KJV
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.
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This verse in Numbers 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
And when Moses relayed these words to all the Israelites
on Numbers 14:39-42
They mourn, and early the next morning they do the thing they refused to do the day before. Moses calls this transgressing the commandment of the LORD, because the command had changed overnight to turn back.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
With the glory of the Lord - With the report of the glorious and righteous acts of God in punishing this rebellious people. My glory - That is, my glorious appearances in the cloud, and in the tabernacle. Ten times - That is, many times.
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord?.... Which was to turn back into the wilderness, and go the way that leads to the Red sea, Num 14:25; instead of which now they were for going forward into the land of Canaan, though averse to it just before: but it shall not prosper; their attempt to enter into it.
And this is written for our admonition, that we "fall not after the same example of unbelief." The Murmuring of the Israelites. 1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain--Notwithstanding the tidings that Moses communicated and which diffused a general feeling of melancholy and grief throughout the camp, the impression was of very brief continuance.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| לָ֥מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| זֶּ֛ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אַתֶּ֥ם | ʾatem | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עֹבְרִ֖ים | ʾoerim | transgressing | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֣י | pi | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְהִ֖וא | vehiv' | and it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִצְלָֽח׃ | titzlach | it will succeed | H6743 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
לָ֥מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
זֶּ֛הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
אַתֶּ֥ם[are] you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
עֹבְרִ֖יםtransgressing
ʾoerimH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּ֣י[the] mouth of
piH6310 →498 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְהִ֖ואand it
vehiv'H1931 →1879 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִצְלָֽח׃it will succeed
titzlachH6743 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 4:9By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
it leads to
- Job 15:30
He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
- Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the…
- Isaiah 30:33
For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:8
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- Revelation 2:16
Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.
- Job 15:30
Through
Numbers 14:25Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:40
But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”
- Deuteronomy 1:40
Through
Jeremiah 2:37Moreover, you will leave that place with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those you trust; you will not prosper by their help.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 13:19
And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying bitterly.
- 2 Samuel 13:19
Through
2 Chronicles 24:20Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:25
Your iniquities have diverted these from you; your sins have deprived you of My bounty.
- Jeremiah 5:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies14
On this chapter
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.