Numbers 14:44 (DBY)

Passage

Yet they presumed to go up to the hill-top; but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and Moses, did not depart from the midst of the camp.

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:42 Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies;

Numbers 14:43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword; for as ye have turned away from Jehovah, Jehovah will not be with you.

Numbers 14:44 Yet they presumed to go up to the hill-top; but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and Moses, did not depart from the midst of the camp.

Numbers 14:45 And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt on that hill, came down and smote them, and cut them to pieces, as far as Hormah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "presumed", "hill-top", "covenant", "jehovah", "moses", "depart", "midst", and "camp". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "presumed" and "hill-top", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 43's "for the Amalekites and the Canaanites are..." into verse 45's "And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who...", so "presumed" and "hill-top" 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 "presumed" and "hill-top" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.