34. For 40 years you will suffer for your sins. (That is one year for each of the 40 days that the men explored the land.) You will know that it is a terrible thing for me to be against you.’
35. “I am the Lord, and I have spoken. And I promise that I will do these things to all these evil people. They have come together against me. So they will all die here in this desert.”
36. The men Moses sent to explore the new land were the ones who came back complaining about him to all the Israelites. They said that the people were not strong enough to enter that land.
37. The men were responsible for spreading the trouble among the Israelites. So the Lord caused a sickness to kill all those men.
38. But Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were among the men who were sent out to explore the land. They are the only ones who did not get the sickness that caused the others to die.
39. When Moses told the Israelites this, they were very sad.
40. Early the next morning the people started to go up to the high hill country. They said, “We have sinned. We are sorry that we did not trust the Lord. We will go to the place that the Lord promised.”
41. But Moses said, “Why are you not obeying the Lord’S command? You will not be successful!
42. Don’t go into that land. The Lord is not with you, so your enemies will easily defeat you.
43. The Amalekites and Canaanites will fight against you there. You have turned away from the Lord, so he will not be with you when you fight them. And you will all be killed in battle.”
44. But the people did not believe Moses. They went toward the high hill country. But Moses and the Box of the Lord’S Agreement did not go with the people.