Numbers 14:39 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:37 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.

Numbers 14:38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.

Numbers 14:39 And Moses told these sayings 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 into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moses", "told", "sayings", "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.