Numbers 14:13 (ASV)

Passage

And Moses said unto Jehovah, Then the Egyptians will hear it; for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:11 And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them?

Numbers 14:12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they.

Numbers 14:13 And Moses said unto Jehovah, Then the Egyptians will hear it; for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;

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

Numbers 14:15 Now if thou shalt kill this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moses", "said", "jehovah", "egyptians", "hear", "thou", "broughtest", and "people". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "moses" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "I will smite them with the pestilence..." into verse 14's "and they will tell it to the...", so "moses" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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