Numbers 14:39 (ASV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:37 even those men that did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before Jehovah.

Numbers 14:38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men that went to spy out the land.

Numbers 14:39 And Moses told these words unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.

Numbers 14:40 And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up to the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we are here, and will go up unto the place which Jehovah hath promised: for we have sinned.

Numbers 14:41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah, seeing it shall not prosper?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moses", "told", "words", "children", "israel", "people", "mourned", and "greatly". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "moses" and "told", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "But Joshua the son of Nun and..." into verse 40's "And they rose up early in the...", so "moses" and "told" 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 "told" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.