Numbers 14:39 (LSB)

Passage

Then Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:37 even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before Yahweh.

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

Numbers 14:39 Then Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.

Numbers 14:40 In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are; we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised because we have indeed sinned.”

Numbers 14:41 But Moses said, “Why then do you trespass against the command of Yahweh, when it will not succeed?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moses", "spoke", "words", "sons", "israel", "people", "mourned", and "greatly". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "moses" and "spoke", 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 "In the morning however they rose up...", so "moses" and "spoke" 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 "spoke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.