24. Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.
25. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord.
26. So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27. make their descendants fall among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
28. They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29. they aroused the Lord’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
30. But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked.
31. This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.
32. By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33. for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips.
34. They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them,
35. but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.