I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

NUMBERS 14:35KJV
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Numbers 14:35 (KJV)

What does Numbers 14:35 mean?

Numbers 14:35 records God’s declaration that everyone in the group of Israelites who opposed Him will die in the wilderness, just as He said. This is a direct consequence for the community’s rebellion against God during their journey from Egypt to the promised land.

In this verse, God is speaking to Moses and the Israelites after they refused to trust Him and enter Canaan. The “evil congregation” refers to those who grumbled and rebelled. God’s words make clear that their punishment is certain: they will not enter the land, but will perish in the desert as a result of their actions.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 14:35

  • “LORD” (יְהוָה, YHWH): This is God’s personal name, emphasizing that the speaker is the covenant God of Israel, not a distant or generic deity.
  • “Evil” (רָעָה, ra‘ah): This word means “bad” or “evil,” highlighting the seriousness of the congregation’s rebellion and not just a minor mistake.
  • “Congregation” (עֵדָה, ‘edah): This term refers to the whole community of Israelites, making it clear that the judgment is on the group, not just a few individuals.
  • “Consumed” (תָּמַם, tamam): This word means “to be finished” or “brought to an end,” stressing that their lives in the wilderness will come to a complete end there.

Why Numbers 14:35 matters

  • Numbers 14:35 clarifies that the punishment is not just a threat but a definite outcome, showing God’s words are final and not open to negotiation in this case.
  • The verse connects directly to the earlier refusal of the Israelites to enter the land, tying their fate to their lack of trust and obedience.
  • This verse helps readers see the seriousness with which God views collective rebellion, not just individual actions, and how it shapes the destiny of an entire community.

Where else these words appear

“together” Hebrew H3259 · used in 29 verses

  • Exodus 21:8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
  • Numbers 16:11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
  • Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

“it” Hebrew H2063 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
  • Leviticus 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
  • 1 Kings 3:23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

“surely” Hebrew H518 · used in 41 verses

  • Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
  • Numbers 24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
  • 2 Kings 9:35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.

“consumed” Hebrew H8552 · used in 62 verses

  • Genesis 47:15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
  • Joshua 8:24 And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.
  • Isaiah 16:4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.