Deuteronomy 1

6. The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb. In this Second Narration, Moses expressly declares that God not only gave them a visible sign, by uplifting the cloud, but that He also verbally commanded the people to leave Mount Sinai, and to set about the performance of the rest of their journey. God says, then, that enough time had been spent in one place; for, before they left it, an entire year had passed away there. Although there were eleven days’ journey before them before they would arrive at Kadesh-barnea, nevertheless, lest anything should delay the people, who were naturally but too indolent, tie stimulates them by setting before them the ease with which it might be accomplished, telling them that they had but to lift up their feet and advance, in order to attain the promised rest.

Numbers 9

Numbers 9:17-23

17. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.

17. Quum discederet nubes a tabernaculo, postea proficiscebantur filii Israel: atque in loco ubi manebat nubes, illic castrametabantur filii Israel.

18. At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.

18. Ad os Jehovae proficiscebantur filii Israel, et ad os Jehovae castrametabantur: cunctis diebus quibus stabat nubes supra tabernaculum, manebant.

19. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not.

19. Quum autem moram trahebat nubes supra tabernaculum diebus multis, tunc observabant filii Israel custodiam Jehovae, et non proficiscebantur.

20. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed.

20. Quando autem nubes paucis diebus erat super tabernaculum, ad os Jehovae manebant, et ad os Jehovae proficiscebantur.

21. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.

21. Quando igitur erat nubes a vespera usque mane, ascendebat autem nubes mane, tunc proficiscebantur: aut si nocte et die, et postea ascendebat nubes, tunc proficiscebantur.

22. Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

22. Aut duobus diebus, aut mense, aut anno, quando moram trahebat nubes super tabernaculum, manendo super illud, in castris manebant filii Israel, nec proficiscebantur: si autem illa ascendebat, tunc proficiscebantur.

23. At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

23. Ad os Jehovae castrametabantur, et ad os Jehovae proficiscebantur: custodiam Jehovae servabant ad os Jehovae per manum Mosis.

27. And ye murmured in your tents. Elsewhere he says that they also wept; here he only speaks of their murmuring, which better suited his reproof. He then reminds them how malignant had been their ingratitude and perversity in upbraiding God on account of the special blessing which He had conferred upon them, as if He had done them a grievous injury. He could not have afforded them a more manifest proof of His paternal love towards them than by their deliverance. Most iniquitous, therefore, is their mode of repaying Him, viz., by complaining that they had been cruelly brought forth to die, and by construing into hatred His exceeding great love. It is clear from the next verse that, although Moses does not relate the details in their proper order, there is still no contradiction in his words. A little before, he had seemed to give unqualified praise to the spies, as if they had performed their office honestly and faithfully, but now, from the language of the people, he shows that they were the authors of the revolt, inasmuch as they rendered inert, by the terror they inspired, those whom they ought to have encouraged.

29. Then I said unto you, Dread not. He here omits the address of Caleb and Joshua: since he only states briefly the heads of what he had spoken to the people. He merely shows that, when he endeavored to recall them to their right senses, his efforts and pains were ineffectual. Moreover, he reasons from experience that they might well place their hopes in the assistance of God, because He went before them as a light; and, in proof of this, he reminds them that, after the discomfiture of the Egyptians, He did not fail still to exert His power, so as to protect even to the end those whom He had once delivered. This, then, is his proposition, that although they might be aware of their own weakness, still, through the power of God, they would be conquerors, since He had taken them under His care, and had declared Himself their leader; which he indicates by the expression, “goes before you.” And, lest any hesitation should remain, he sets against their present obstacles the miracles of God’s power, which they had experienced, not only in the commencement of their redemption, but in the continued progress of their deliverance’s, when, in their lost and desperate state, He had by ways innumerable restored them from death unto life. Hence he concludes that they ought not to be afraid, not that he would wish them to be altogether free from all fear and care, but so that they might overcome all hindrances, when confidence derived from the ready help of God should prevail in their hearts. He says emphatically that God had fought “before their eyes,” to lead them to fuller conviction by the evidence of their own senses.

31. And it, the wilderness where thou hast seen. The constant course of God’s grace is here commemorated; from whence they might safely infer, that He, who had pursued them with so many benefits, would still be the same in this crowning act. He, therefore, uses the image of bearing, because the way would have been by no means passable unless God had borne them, as it were, on His shoulders, just as a father is wont to bear his infant child. Thus, on the one hand, the incredible goodness of God is exalted, who had deigned so far to condescend as to take up the people in His arms; and, on the other hand, the people are reminded of their own infirmity, for, unless upheld by the power of God, they would scarcely have been competent to advance a step. Elsewhere, retaining a portion of this similitude, Moses compares God to an eagle, who bears her young upon her wings, and teaches them to fly. And surely, unless (the Israelites) had been uplifted by supernatural means, they would never have been equal to a hundredth part of the difficulties they encountered.

32. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord. He signifies that they had been most prejudiced observers of the works of God, since His power, so often experienced and. so thoroughly understood, had not aroused them to confidence in Him. For in the word דבר , dabar, which we have translated thing, he embraces all the proofs whereby God had testified, that in Him alone there was all that was necessary to insure their complete salvation. And this was, so to speak, real or practical doctrine, when God called upon them to trust Him by stretching forth His hand. Still, He accuses them of unbelief with reference to the promise; for, whilst faith is not only prompt and ready in obedience, but invigorates and quickens the whole mall, so the cause of their inertness was that they gave no heed to God who had promised to bestow upon them the land of Canaan, and did not rest upon His covenant. In relation to this also, he says, that God marked out the places and stations where they should pitch their camp, for, unless it had been His design to guide them onwards, this change of places would have been superfluous. It was, therefore, gross supineness not to refer these signs for halting and proceeding to their proper object, since it was equivalent to despising God when He held out His hand to them.

Numbers 14

Numbers 14:10-38

10. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

10. Tunc dixit tota multitudo, ut eos lapidibus obruerent: et gloria Jehovae apparuit in tabernaculo conventionis omnibus filiis Israel.

11. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke. me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which! have showed among them?

11. Tunc dixit Jehova ad Mosen, Usquequo vilipendet me populus iste? et usquequo non credent mihi in cunctis signis quae feci in medio eorum?

12. I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

12. Percutiam cum peste, expellamque eum: te autem faciam in gentem magnam et robustiorem eo.

13. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it; (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)

13. Et dixit Moses ad Jehovam, Atqui audient AEgyptii (quia eduxisti in virtute tua populum istum e medio ejus:)

14. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people; that thou, Lord, art seen face to face; and that thy cloud standeth over them; and that thou goest before them, by day-time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

14. Dicentque habitatori terrae ejus, qui audierunt quod tu Jehova sis, in medio hujus populi: quandoquidem oculo ad oculum visus sis tu Jehova: et nubes tua steterit super eos, et in columna nubis praecesseris eos per diem, et in columna ignis per noctem.

15. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations, which have heard the fame of thee, will speak, saying,

15. Si interfeceris populum hunc quasi virum unum, tunc dicent gentes quae audierint famam tuam.

16. Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

16. Quia absque potentia est Jehova, ut introducat populum istum in terram, quam juravit eis, ideo mactavit eos in deserto.

17. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

17. Et nunc magnificetur quaeso fortitudo Domini mei, sicut loquutus es, dicens:

18. The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

18. Jehova tardus ad iram, et multae misericordiae, tollens iniquitatem et peccatum, et innocentem non faciens: visitans iniquitatem patrum in filios super tertiam et quartam generationem.

19. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

19. Propitius esto agedum iniquitati populi hujus, secundum magnitudinem clementiae tuae, sicut remisisti populo huic ex AEgypto usque nunc.

20. And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word:

20. Tune dixit Jehova, Peperci secundum sermonem tuum.

21. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

21. Veruntamen vivo ego, et replebit gloria mea universam terram.

22. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles which I did in Egypt, and in the wilderness, have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

22. Quoad cunctos homines qui viderunt gloriam meam, et signa mea quae edidi in AEgypto, et deserto, et tentaverunt me jam decem vicibus, nec paruerunt voci meae:

23. Surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

23. Si videbunt terram, de qua juravi patribus eorum, omnes, inquam, qui me irritaverunt, non videbunt eam.

24. But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereunto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

24. At servum meum Caleb, eo quod alius fuit spiritus cum eo, et adimplevit ire post me, ipsum quoque introducam in terram quam ingressus est, et semen ejus haereditate accipiet eam.

25. (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness, by the way of the Red sea.

25. Amalec et Chananaeus habitat in valle: cras revertimini et proficiscimini in desertum via maris Suph.

26. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

26. Loquutus est itaque Jehova ad Mosen et Aharon, dicendo:

27. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

27. Usque quo congregationem hanc perversam feram, quae murmurat adversum me? murmurationes filiorum Israel, quibus ipsi murmurant contra me, audivi.

28. Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

28. Dic ergo eis, Vivo ego, dicit Jehova, nisi quemadmodum loquuti estis in auribus meis sic fecero vobis.

29. Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

29. In deserto isto cadent cadavera vestra, et omnes numerati vestri, secundum omnem numerum vestrum, a filio viginti annorum et supra, qui murmurastis contra me.

30. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

30. Si vos ingrediemini terram de qua levavi manum meam, ut habitare vos facerem in ea: praeter Caleb filium Jephuneh, et Jehosua filium Nun.

31. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.

31. Ac parvulos vestros, de quibus dixistis, In praedam erunt, ipsos introducam: et cognoscent terram istam quam despexistis.

32. But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness.

32. Cadavera autem vestra cadent in deserto hoc.

33. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness.

33. Et filii vestri pastores erunt in deserto hoc quadraginta annis: et portabunt scortationes vestras donec consumantur cadavera vestra in deserto.

34. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, (each day for a year,) shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years; and ye shall know my breach of promise.

34. Secundum numerum dierum quibus explorastis terram quadraginta diebus, unoquoque die pro anno uno, portabitis iniquitates vestras in deserto, et cognoscetis vanitatem meam.

35. I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

35. Ego Jehova loquutus sum, Si non hoc fecero universae congregationi huic perversae, quae congregata est adversum me, in deserto isto consumentur, ibique morientur.

36. And the men which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,

36. Viri itaque illi quos miserat Moses ad explorandam terram, qui reversi murmurare fecerant adversus eum cunctam congregationem, detrahendo terrae:

37. Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord.

37. Morientur viri illi qui terrae detraxerunt, plaga coram Jehova.

38. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still,

38. Jehosua vero filius Nun, et Caleb filius Jephuneh vivent, ex hominibus illis qui profecti sunt ad explorandam terram.

34. And the Lord heard the voice of your words. I have shown elsewhere what is meant by God’s hearing, i.e., that nothing can be concealed from Him, but that tie will take account of and judge all our words and deeds And this is worthy of our observation; for men would never dare to murmur against Him, unless they promised themselves impunity from His not being present. Secondly, we learn from hence, that God, who is a just Judge, does not proceed hastily and without cause to inflict punishment on men, and that He does not manifest severity without a full examination of the case. He, therefore, means that they deprived themselves of their assured inheritance, when they were close upon receiving it, through their own rebellion and depravity.

37. Also the Lord was angry with me. It is in no cowardly spirit that he transfers to them the guilt of unfaithfulness, which he had confessed for himself; but, since he had only fallen in consequence of being overwhelmed by their obstinate wickedness, he justly reproaches them with the fact that God was wroth with him on account of their sin. If under this pretext he had attempted to extenuate his guilt before God, or to substitute their criminality for his own, he would have done nothing else than double the evil: but, in reproving the people, he rightly and appropriately complained that the cause of his sin had arisen from them. As if he had said that they were so perverse that even he had been corrupted by them, and drawn into association with their guilt and its punishment. He here, however, adds respecting Joshua what he had before passed over in silence. His appointment as successor to Moses served to encourage the people; for it was a notable ground for hope that they should hear a provision already made, that after the death of Moses they should not be destitute of a leader, who would rule them under the auspices of God. Why God preferred this man to all others, especially when Caleb is more highly praised elsewhere, is only known to Himself. We know that He chooses according to His own will those whom He destines to any charge, so that the dignity of men may depend upon His gratuitous favor. “To stand before” a person is equivalent to being at hand to do his bidding; and it seems that this was stated to be the condition of Joshua, in order that the punishment might be more manifest; inasmuch as, by an entire inversion, a successor is given to Moses, who had been his servant.

Numbers 20

Numbers 20:14-22

14. And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travel that hath befallen us;

14. Misit autem Moses nuntium e Cades ad regem Edom, Sic dicit frater tuns Israel, Tu nosti omnem laborem qui apprehendit nos.

15. How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us and our fathers:

15. Quia descenderunt patres nostri in AEgyptum, et mansimus in AEgypto diebus multis, afflixeruntque nos AEgyptii, et patres nostros.

16. And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt; and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border.

16. Et clamavimus ad Jehovam, qui exaudivit vocem nostram, et misit angelum qui nos eduxit ex AEgypto. Et ecce, sumus in Cades, urbe in extremitate termini tui.

17. Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high-way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.

17. Transeamus, agedum, per terram tuam, non transibimus per agros aut per vineas, neque bibemus aquam putei, via regia gradiemur: neque declinabimus ad dexteram aut ad sinistram, donec transierimus terminum tuum.

18. And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.

18. Cui respondit Edom, Non transibis per me, ne forte cum gladio egrediar in occursum tui.

19. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high-way; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only (without doing any thing else) go through on my feet.

19. Et dixerunt ei filii Israel, Per viam ascendemus: quod si aquas tuas biberimus ego et animalia mea, dabo pretium illarum. Tantummodo sine negotio transeam pedibus meis.

20. And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.

20. Verum dixit, Non transibis. Et egressus est in occursum ejus cum populo multo, et manu forti.

21. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

21. Renuit igitur Edom permittere Israeli, ut transiret per terminum suum: tunc Israel declinavit ab eo.

22. And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.

22. Et profecti sunt e Cades, veneruntque filii Israel, tota congregatio ad montem Hor.

39. Moreover, your little ones. I have already shown that God so tempered His judgment that, whilst none of the guilty should escape with impunity, still His faithfulness should remain sure and inviolable, and that the wickedness of men should not make void the covenant which He had made with Abraham. He, therefore, pronounces sentence upon them, that they should never enjoy the inheritance which they had despised: yet declares that He will nevertheless be true in the fulfillment of what He had promised, and will display His mercy towards their children, whom in their despair they had condemned to be a prey to their enemies. When He limits this grace to their little ones, whose age did not yet allow them to discern between good and evil, He signifies that all who had already arrived at the years of reason, were, from the least to the greatest, accomplices in the crime, since the contagion had spread through the whole body. Surely it was an incredible prodigy, that so great a multitude should be so carried away by diabolical fury, as that nothing should remain unaffected by it, unless perhaps a timely death removed some of the old men rather on account of the vice of others than their own. But, if even a hundredth part of them had been guiltless of the crime, God would have left some survivors. “To have no knowledge of good and evil,” is equivalent to being unable “to discern between their right hand and their left hand;” by which expression in Jonah, (Jonah 4:11,) God exempts from condemnation those little ones, who have as yet no power of forming a judgment. From hence, however, some have foolishly attempted to prove that infant-children are not defiled by original sin; and that men are involved in no guilt, except such as they have severally contracted by their own voluntary act (arbitrio.) For the question here is not as to the nature of the human race; a distinction is simply made between children and those who have consciously and willfully provoked God’s wrath; whereas the corruption, which is the root (of all evils, ) although it may not immediately produce its fruit in actual sins, is not therefore non-existent.

Numbers 14

Numbers 14:39-45

39. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.

39. Loquutus est igitur Moses verba ista omnibus filiis Israel, et luxerunt populus valde.

40. And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned.

40. Surrexeruntque mane, et ascenderunt in verticem montis, dicendo: Ecce nos, ut ascendamus ad locum de quo loquutus est Jehova: quia peccavimus.

41. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.

41. Et dixit Moses, Ut quid transgredimini sermonem Jehovae? Et (vel, quando) hoc non prospere cedet.

42. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.

42. Ne ascendatis: quia non est Jehova in medio vestri: ne percutiamini coram inimicis vestris.

43. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.

43. Amalec enim et Chananaeus ibi est ante vos, et cadetis gladio. Nam propterea quod aversi estis a sequendo Jehova, neque erit Jehova vobiscum.

44. But they presumed to go up unto the hill-top: nevertheless, the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.

44. Sumpserunt tamen animos ut ascenderent in verticem montis. Area autem foederis Jehovae et Moses non recesserunt e medio castrorum.

45. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.

45. Descendit itaque Amalec et Chananaeus, qui habitabant in monte illo, percusseruntque eos, et contuderunt usque Horma.

41. Then ye answered and said unto me. The repentance was too late, which impelled the Israelites to their unseasonable effort of activity; although, as I have above explained, they did not truly and seriously repent, since, when they ought patiently to have borne the chastening of God, they endeavored to shake it off, and to drive it far away from them by a new act of disobedience. In a word, they did nothing else but kick against the pricks. But such is the energy of men, when their own fancy leads them, that they will dare anything which God forbids. But herein did their far worse folly betray itself, in that, when they were again withheld, they still refuse to obey. Besides, He does not merely forbid them to fight, but denies them His assistance. What then could be more monstrous than that, in opposition to God’s will, and when the hope of His assistance was withdrawn, they should engage in what they had just before obstinately refused to attempt under His auspices, and by His command, and with the sure promise of success? And yet, so does hypocrisy blind men’s minds, that they imagined they were correcting and compensating for the evil which they doubled. Moses then relates how they received the reward which they deserved; as much as to say, that, although they might be slow to learn, still they were made acquainted, by the reverse which they experienced, how fatal a thing it is not to obey God: for fools never learn wisdom except beneath the rod.

45. And ye returned and wept before the Lord. He here appeals to the testimony of their own conscience; for they never would have been brought to weeping and prayers, except by the force of their own feelings. Since, then, they were abundantly convinced, that a just punishment was inflicted upon their obstinacy, necessity drove them to seek after God: consequently they had no cause to complain, though God manifested Himself to be implacable. In the last verse there is an ambiguity in the meaning of these words, “many days, according to the number of the days.” Some, rendering the verb in the pluperfect tense, “in which we had remained there,” suppose that they still abode there another forty days. But it is equally probable; that an indefinite time is referred to: as if he had said, that the people delayed there a long time, from whence it might be inferred, that they lay like persons stupified, from lack of knowing what to do. It is Kadesh-barnea to which Moses refers, from whence the spies had been sent forth; and not the Kadesh where Miriam died, and where the people murmured for want of water.

Deuteronomy 9

Deuteronomy 9:22-24

22. And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked the Lord to wrath.

22. Et in Taberah et in Massah, et in Cibroth Hatthaavah ad iram provocastis Jehovam.

23. Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.

23. Et quum misisset vos Jehova de Cades Barnea, dicendo: Ascendite, et possidete terram quam dedi vobis, rebellastis verbo Jehovae Dei vestri, neque credidistis ei, neque obedivistis voci ejus.

24. Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

24. Rebelles fuistis Jehovae a die qua cognovi vos.