Numbers 14:23

14:23 they will by no means 1  see the land that I swore to their fathers, nor will any of them who despised me see it.

Numbers 14:31

14:31 But I will bring in your little ones, whom you said would become victims of war, 2  and they will enjoy 3  the land that you have despised.

Numbers 15:31

15:31 Because he has despised 4  the word of the Lord and has broken 5  his commandment, that person 6  must be completely cut off. 7  His iniquity will be on him.’” 8 

1 tn The word אִם (’im) indicates a negative oath formula: “if” means “they will not.” It is elliptical. In a human oath one would be saying: “The Lord do to me if they see…,” meaning “they will by no means see.” Here God is swearing that they will not see the land.

2 tn Or “plunder.”

3 tn Heb “know.”

4 tn The verb בָּזָה (bazah, “to despise”) means to treat something as worthless, to treat it with contempt, to look down the nose at something as it were.

5 tn The verb פָּרַר (parar, “to break”) can mean to nullify, break, or violate a covenant.

6 tn Heb “soul.”

7 tn The construction uses the Niphal imperfect with the modifying Niphal infinitive absolute. The infinitive makes the sentence more emphatic. If the imperfect tense is taken as an instruction imperfect, then the infinitive makes the instruction more binding. If it is a simple future, then the future is certain. In either case, there is no exclusion from being cut off.

8 sn The point is that the person’s iniquity remains with him – he must pay for his sin. The judgment of God in such a case is both appropriate and unavoidable.