Therefore the whole multitude crying wept that night.

Igitur vociferans omnis turba flevit nocte illa,

So, that night, the whole multitude of the Israelites fell to weeping,

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying:

et murmurati sunt contra Moysen et Aaron cuncti filii Israël, dicentes:

and were loud in their complaints against Moses and Aaron:

Would God that we had died in Egypt: and would God we may die in this vast wilderness, and that the Lord may not bring us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives and children be led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt?

Utinam mortui essemus in Ægypto: et in hac vasta solitudine utinam pereamus, et non inducat nos Dominus in terram istam, ne cadamus gladio, et uxores ac liberi nostri ducantur captivi. Nonne melius est reverti in Ægyptum?

Better that we had died in Egypt, better we should meet our end in this waste desert, than march at the Lord’s bidding into such a land as that, where we shall fall at the sword’s point, and our wives and children be led off as captives! Were it not better to go back to Egypt?

And they said one to another: Let us appoint a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Dixeruntque alter ad alterum: Constituamus nobis ducem, et revertamur in Ægyptum.

A leader, they said to one another, let us set up a leader who will take us back to Egypt!

And when Moses and Aaron heard this, they fell down flat upon the ground before the multitude of the children of Israel.

Quo audito, Moyses et Aaron ceciderunt proni in terram coram omni multitudine filiorum Israël.

Moses and Aaron, on hearing it, cast themselves down to earth before the whole assembly of Israel;

But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone, who themselves also had viewed the land, rent their garments,

At vero Josue filius Nun et Caleb filius Jephone, qui et ipsi lustraverant terram, sciderunt vestimenta sua,

meanwhile Josue the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephone, who had taken their part in surveying the country, tore their garments in dissent.

And said to all the multitude of the children of Israel: The land which we have gone round is very good:

et ad omnem multitudinem filiorum Israël locuti sunt: Terra, quam circuivimus, valde bona est.

Nay, men of Israel, they cried, it was a land of great plenty we passed through.

If the Lord be favourable, he will bring us into it, and give us a land flowing with milk and honey.

Si propitius fuerit Dominus, inducet nos in eam, et tradet humum lacte et melle manantem.

The Lord, of his mercy, will find a way in for us, and it will be ours, a land that is all milk and honey!

Be not rebellious against the Lord: and fear ye not the people of this land, for we are able to eat them up as bread. All aid is gone from them: the Lord is with us, fear ye not.

Nolite rebelles esse contra Dominum: neque timeatis populum terræ hujus, quia sicut panem ita eos possumus devorare. Recessit ab eis omne præsidium: Dominus nobiscum est, nolite metuere.

Would you defy the Lord’s will, daunted by the Chanaanites? Why, they are bread for our eating; they may not hope to defend themselves. The Lord is on our side; never be afraid of them!

And when all the multitude cried out, and would have stoned them, the glory of the Lord appeared over the tabernacle of the covenant to all the children of Israel.

Cumque clamaret omnis multitudo, et lapidibus eos vellet opprimere, apparuit gloria Domini super tectum fœderis cunctis filiis Israël.

At this, all the people cried out, and were for stoning them. But suddenly, over the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord’s presence made itself known to the whole of Israel.

And the Lord said to Moses: How long will this people detract me? how long will they not believe me for all the signs that I have wrought before them?

Et dixit Dominus ad Moysen: Usquequo detrahet mihi populus iste? quousque non credent mihi, in omnibus signis quæ feci coram eis?

And the Lord said to Moses, Am I to be always slighted by this people of mine? Will they never learn to trust in me, for all the marvellous deeds of mine they have witnessed?

I will strike them therefore with pestilence, and will consume them: but thee I will make a ruler over a great nation, and a mightier than this is.

Feriam igitur eos pestilentia, atque consumam: te autem faciam principem super gentem magnam, et fortiorem quam hæc est.

Enough; I will smite them with pestilence, and make an end of them; I will find a people greater and sturdier than this to march under thy leadership.

And Moses said to the Lord: That the Egyptians, from the midst of whom thou hast brought forth this people,

Et ait Moyses ad Dominum: Ut audiant Ægyptii, de quorum medio eduxisti populum istum,

Good news, Lord, said Moses, for the Egyptians, from whose power thou didst once rescue thy people;

And the inhabitants of this land, (who have heard that thou, O Lord, art among this people, and art seen face to face, and thy cloud protecteth them, and thou goest before them in a pillar of a cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night,)

et habitatores terræ hujus, qui audierunt quod tu, Domine, in populo isto sis, et facie videaris ad faciem, et nubes tua protegat illos, et in columna nubis præcedas eos per diem, et in columna ignis per noctem:

good news, too, for the inhabitants of this land. They know how thou dwellest among thy people, letting thyself be seen face to face, sheltering us with cloud, going before us in a pillar of cloud by day, of fire by night.

May hear that thou hast killed so great a multitude as it were one man and may say:

quod occideris tantam multitudinem quasi unum hominem, et dicant:

Are they to be told that thou hast annihilated, at a blow, all this host of thine?

He could not bring the people into the land for which he had sworn, therefore did he kill them in the wilderness.

Non poterat introducere populum in terram pro qua juraverat: idcirco occidit eos in solitudine?

Ah, they will say, he could find no means to grant his people their promised home, so he was fain to destroy them in the wilderness!

Let then the strength of the Lord be magnified, as thou hast sworn, saying:

Magnificetur ergo fortitudo Domini sicut jurasti, dicens:

Nay, Lord, vindicate thy power; hast thou not said,

The Lord is patient and full of mercy, taking away iniquity and wickedness, and leaving no man clear, who visitest the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Dominus patiens et multæ misericordiæ, auferens iniquitatem et scelera, nullumque innoxium derelinquens, qui visitas peccata patrum in filios in tertiam et quartam generationem.

The Lord is slow to take vengeance, rich in kindness, pardoning the guilt of the wrong-doer? Though indeed thou holdest no man innocent, and wilt have the son make amends for the father’s guilt, to the third and fourth generation.

Forgive, I beseech thee, the sins of this people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, as thou hast been merciful to them from their going out of Egypt unto this place.

Dimitte, obsecro, peccatum populi hujus secundum magnitudinem misericordiæ tuæ, sicut propitius fuisti egredientibus de Ægypto usque ad locum istum.

Forgive, I implore thee, this people of thine, as thou art ever abundantly merciful, as thou hast ever shewn favour to us while we made our way from Egypt to this spot.

And the Lord said: I have forgiven according to thy word.

Dixitque Dominus: Dimisi juxta verbum tuum.

Then the Lord said, At thy request, I forgive.

As I live: and the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

Vivo ego: et implebitur gloria Domini universa terra.

But as I am the living Lord, whose glory must spread wide as earth,

But yet all the men that have seen my majesty, and the signs that I have done in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now ten times, and have not obeyed my voice,

Attamen omnes homines qui viderunt majestatem meam, et signa quæ feci in Ægypto et in solitudine, et tentaverunt me jam per decem vices, nec obedierunt voci meæ,

these men who have been witnesses of my greatness, of all the marvellous deeds I did, in Egypt and in the desert, yet must needs challenge my power half a score of times, and disobey my will,

Shall not see the land for which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any one of them that hath detracted me behold it.

non videbunt terram pro qua juravi patribus eorum, nec quisquam ex illis qui detraxit mihi, intuebitur eam.

these shall never see the land I promised to their fathers; it shall never be enjoyed by those who slighted me.

My servant Caleb, who being full of another spirit hath followed me, I will bring into this land which he hath gone round: and his seed shall possess it.

Servum meum Caleb, qui plenus alio spiritu secutus est me, inducam in terram hanc, quam circuivit; et semen ejus possidebit eam.

My servant Caleb was of another mind; he took my part, and I will allow him to enter the land which he surveyed, and leave his race an inheritance there.

For the Amalecite and the Chanaanite dwell in the valleys. To morrow remove the camp, and return into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

Quoniam Amalecites et Chananæus habitant in vallibus. Cras movete castra, et revertimini in solitudinem per viam maris Rubri.

The sons of Amalec and Chanaan may rest secure in their mountain glens; to-morrow you must move camp, and go back to the desert by the Red Sea.

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen et Aaron, dicens:

Such was the Lord’s message to Moses and Aaron:

How long doth this wicked multitude murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.

Usquequo multitudo hæc pessima murmurat contra me? querelas filiorum Israël audivi.

Will this thankless multitude never cease complaining; must I hear nothing but lament from the sons of Israel?

Say therefore to them: As I live, saith the Lord: According as you have spoken in my hearing, so will I do to you.

Dic ergo eis: Vivo ego, ait Dominus: sicut locuti estis audiente me, sic faciam vobis.

Tell them this, As I am living God, the Lord says, the very words you have used in my hearing shall come true;

In the wilderness shall your carcasses lie. All you that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, and have murmured against me,

In solitudine hac jacebunt cadavera vestra. Omnes qui numerati estis a viginti annis et supra, et murmurastis contra me,

your bones shall be left to lie in this desert. Of all you that were registered above the age of twenty years, you that have made complaint against me,

Shall not enter into the land, over which I lifted up my hand to make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun.

non intrabitis terram, super quam levavi manum meam ut habitare vos facerem, præter Caleb filium Jephone, et Josue filium Nun.

not a man shall enter the land in which I swore to make a home for you, except Caleb the son of Jephone and Josue the son of Nun.

But your children, of whom you said, that they should be a prey to the enemies, will I bring in: that they may see the land which you have despised.

Parvulos autem vestros, de quibus dixistis quod prædæ hostibus forent, introducam, ut videant terram, quæ vobis displicuit.

These shall make their way in instead, these children of yours that were to be a prey, you thought, to the enemy; they shall have sight, instead, of the land their fathers belittled.

Your carcasses shall lie in the wilderness.

Vestra cadavera jacebunt in solitudine.

In the desert your bones shall lie;

Your children shall wander in the desert forty years, and shall bear your fornication, until the carcasses of their fathers be consumed in the desert,

Filii vestri erunt vagi in deserto annis quadraginta, et portabunt fornicationem vestram, donec consumantur cadavera patrum in deserto,

and until the desert has swallowed them up, these sons of yours shall wander to and fro in it for forty years, doing penance for your unfaithfulness.

According to the number of the forty days, wherein you viewed the land: a year shall be counted for a day. And forty years you shall receive your iniquities, and shall know my revenge:

juxta numerum quadraginta dierum, quibus considerastis terram: annus pro die imputabitur. Et quadraginta annis recipietis iniquitates vestras, et scietis ultionem meam:

For forty days you surveyed the land, and for each day you shall have a year of penance for your sins, and feel my vengeance.

For as I have spoken, so will I do to all this wicked multitude, that hath risen up together against me: in this wilderness shall it faint away and die.

quoniam sicut locutus sum, ita faciam omni multitudini huic pessimæ, quæ consurrexit adversum me: in solitudine hac deficiet, et morietur.

See if I do not make good the threats I have uttered against a thankless and rebellious people, leaving them to faint and die in the desert.

Therefore all the men, whom Moses had sent to view the land, and who at their return had made the whole multitude to murmur against him, speaking ill of the land that it was naught,

Igitur omnes viri, quos miserat Moyses ad contemplandam terram, et qui reversi murmurare fecerant contra eum omnem multitudinem, detrahentes terræ quod esset mala,

As for the men Moses had sent to survey the country, who returned to embitter the multitude against him by the ill report they brought with them,

Died and were struck in the sight of the Lord.

mortui sunt atque percussi in conspectu Domini.

they died of plague, there in the Lord’s presence;

But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone lived, of all them that had gone to view the land.

Josue autem filius Nun, et Caleb filius Jephone, vixerunt ex omnibus qui perrexerant ad considerandam terram.

of all that went on that errand, only Josue the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephone were left alive.

And Moses spoke all these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned exceedingly.

Locutusque est Moyses universa verba hæc ad omnes filios Israël, et luxit populus nimis.

Meanwhile the people of Israel, upon hearing all this from Moses, were full of remorse;

And behold rising up very early in the morning, they went up to the top of the mountain, and said: We are ready to go up to the place, of which the Lord hath spoken: for we have sinned.

Et ecce mane primo surgentes ascenderunt verticem montis, atque dixerunt: Parati sumus ascendere ad locum, de quo Dominus locutus est: quia peccavimus.

and at dawn of day they were all up on the mountain heights, crying, We confess our fault; now we are ready to attack the land which the Lord has promised us.

And Moses said to them: Why transgress you the word of the Lord, which shall not succeed prosperously with you?

Quibus Moyses: Cur, inquit, transgredimini verbum Domini, quod vobis non cedet in prosperum?

What, said Moses, Would you go beyond the Lord’s word? You will gain nothing by it.

Go not up, for the Lord is not with you: lest you fall before your enemies.

nolite ascendere: non enim est Dominus vobiscum: ne corruatis coram inimicis vestris.

The Lord is not on your side; do not march to the attack, or you will be overthrown by your enemies.

The Amalecite and the Chanaanite are before you, and by their sword you shall fall, because you would not consent to the Lord, neither will the Lord be with you.

Amalecites et Chananæus ante vos sunt, quorum gladio corruetis, eo quod nolueritis acquiescere Domino: nec erit Dominus vobiscum.

The Lord will not take part with men who have refused him obedience; you will be met by Amalecite and Chanaanite, and their swords will lay you low.

But they being blinded went up to the top of the mountain. But the ark of the testament of the Lord and Moses departed not from the camp.

At illi contenebrati ascenderunt in verticem montis. Arca autem testamenti Domini et Moyses non recesserunt de castris.

Yet, in their blind confidence, they marched on into the hill country, though the ark of God, and Moses with it, remained there in the camp.

And the Amalecite came down, and the Chanaanite that dwelt in the mountain: and smiting and slaying them pursued them as far as Horma.

Descenditque Amalecites et Chananæus, qui habitabat in monte: et percutiens eos atque concidens, persecutus est eos usque Horma.

And the men who dwelt in the hill country, Amalecites and Chanaanites, fell on them from above, setting upon them and cutting them down till they had pursued them all the way to Horma.