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Numbers 14:42

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Numbers 14:42 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten down before your enemies.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten down before your enemies.
Numbers 14:42 — American Standard Version

Context — Numbers 14

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
39And Moses told these words unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
40And 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.
41And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of Jehovah, seeing it shall not prosper?
42Go not up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be not smitten down before your enemies.
43For there the Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned back from following Jehovah, therefore Jehovah will not be with you.
44But they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
45Then the Amalekite came down, and the Canaanite who dwelt in that mountain, and smote them and beat them down, even unto Hormah.
← Numbers 14:41Numbers 14:43 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Go not up, for the Lord [is] not among you, etc.] And therefore could not expect success, for victory is of the Lord; the Targum of Jonathan adds, “the ark, and the tabernacle, and the cloud of glory move not,” which were a plain indication that the Lord would not go with them, and therefore could not hope to prevail over their enemies and enter the land, but on the contrary might expect to be defeated by them, as follows: that ye be not smitten before your enemies; of which they would be in great danger should they attempt to go up the hill, and the Lord not with them.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Deu 1:42; Jos 7:8, Jos 7:12; Psa 44:1, Psa 44:2-11 Numbers 14:43”
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Related study paths

Read Numbers 14 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification