Numbers 14:1 (ASV)

Passage

And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

Numbers 14:2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness!

Numbers 14:3 And wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "congregation", "lifted", "voice", "cried", "people", "wept", and "night". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "congregation" and "lifted", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "And all the children of Israel murmured...", so "congregation" and "lifted" should be read forward into that movement. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "congregation" and "lifted" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.