Numbers 14:27 (KJV)

Passage

How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

Numbers 14:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Numbers 14:27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

Numbers 14:28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

Numbers 14:29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "long", "shall", "bear", "evil", "congregation", "murmur", "against", and "heard". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "long" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "And the LORD spake unto Moses and..." into verse 28's "Say unto them As truly as I...", so "long" and "shall" 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 "long" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.