He put up with their behavior for about 40 years in the desert.

又在旷野容忍他们，约有四十年。

他在旷野容忍他们，约有四十年。

他在旷野容忍他们，约有四十年。

他们在旷野漂泊的那四十年间，上帝一直照顾、容忍他们。

又在旷野容忍（“容忍”有些抄本作“养育”）他们，约有四十年之久；

在旷野，神容忍了他们约有四十年之久。

又在曠野容忍他們，約有四十年。

他在曠野容忍他們，約有四十年。

他在曠野容忍他們，約有四十年。

他們在曠野漂泊的那四十年間，上帝一直照顧、容忍他們。

又在曠野容忍（“容忍”有些抄本作“養育”）他們，約有四十年之久；

在野地裏背負他們的無狀，約有四十年的工夫。

在曠野，神容忍了他們約有四十年之久。

在曠野包容之、約四十年、

在曠野四十年包容之、

在曠野撫養之、約四十年、

在曠野中予以優容者凡四十載、

for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness;

And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.

He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness;

For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.

Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness.

And for about the time of forty years as a nursing- father bare he them in the wilderness.

And for about 40 years He put up with them in the wilderness;

And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.

For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.

For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.

So Moses led them out of Egypt. He did wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for 40 years in the desert.

I also got that sinful calf you had made. I burned it in the fire. I crushed it and ground it into fine powder. Then I threw the powder into a stream that was flowing down the mountain.You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, Massah and Kibroth Hattaavah.The Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea. He said,“ Go up and take over the land I have given you.” But you refused to do what the Lord your God had commanded you to do. You didn’t trust him or obey him.You have been refusing to obey the Lord as long as I’ve known you.

Here is something you must remember. Never forget it. You made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You refused to obey him from the day you left Egypt until you arrived here.

“ But our people before us became proud and stubborn. They didn’t obey your commands.They refused to listen to you. They forgot the miracles you had done among them. So they became stubborn. When they refused to obey you, they appointed a leader for themselves. They wanted to go back to being slaves in Egypt. But you are a God who forgives. You are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. So you didn’t desert them.They made for themselves a metal statue of a god that looked like a calf. They said to one another,‘ Here is your god. He brought you up out of Egypt.’ And they did evil things that dishonored you. But you still didn’t desert them.“ Because you loved them so much, you didn’t leave them in the desert. During the day the pillar of cloud didn’t stop guiding them on their path. At night the pillar of fire didn’t stop shining on the way you wanted them to go.You gave them your good Spirit to teach them. You didn’t hold back your manna from their mouths. And you gave them water when they were thirsty.For 40 years you took good care of them in the desert. They had everything they needed. Their clothes didn’t wear out. And their feet didn’t swell up.

“ People of Israel, did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for 40 years in the desert?Yes. But you have honored the place where your king worshiped other gods. You have carried the stands the statues of your gods were on. You have lifted up the banners of the stars you worship as gods. You made all those things for yourselves.

The Holy Spirit says,“ Listen to his voice today.If you hear it, don’t be stubborn. You were stubborn when you opposed me. You did that when you were tested in the desert.There your people of long ago tested me. Yet for 40 years they saw what I did.That is why I was angry with them. I said,‘ Their hearts are always going astray. They have not known my ways.’

But they soon forgot what he had done. They didn’t wait for what he had planned to happen.In the desert they longed for food. In that dry and empty land they tested God.So he gave them what they asked for. But he also sent a sickness that killed many of them.In their camp some of them became jealous of Moses and Aaron. Aaron had been set apart to serve the Lord.The ground opened up and swallowed Dathan. It buried Abiram and his followers.Fire blazed among all of them. Flames destroyed those evil people.At Mount Horeb they made a metal statue of a bull calf. They worshiped that statue of a god.They traded their glorious God for a statue of a bull that eats grass.They forgot the God who saved them. They forgot the God who had done great things in Egypt.They forgot the miracles he did in the land of Ham. They forgot the wonderful things he did by the Red Sea.So he said he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stood up for them. He kept God’s anger from destroying them.Later on, they refused to enter the pleasant land of Canaan. They didn’t believe God’s promise.In their tents they told the Lord how unhappy they were. They didn’t obey him.So he lifted up his hand and promised that he would make them die in the desert.He promised he would scatter their children’s children among the nations. He would make them die in other lands.They joined in worshiping the Baal that was worshiped at Peor. They ate food that had been offered to gods that aren’t even alive.Their evil ways made the Lord angry. So a plague broke out among them.

In the desert the whole community told Moses and Aaron they weren’t happy with them.

Who were those who heard and refused to obey? Weren’t they all the people Moses led out of Egypt?Who was God angry with for 40 years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned? They died in the desert.God promised that those people would never enjoy the rest he planned for them. God gave his word when he made that promise. Didn’t he make that promise to those who didn’t obey?So we see that they weren’t able to enter. That’s because they didn’t believe.

Brothers and sisters, I want you to know something about our people who lived long ago. They were all led by the cloud. They all walked through the Red Sea.They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.They all ate the same spiritual food.They all drank the same spiritual water. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was Christ.But God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in the desert.Now those things happened as examples for us. They are supposed to keep us from wanting evil things. The people of Israel wanted these evil things.So don’t worship statues of gods, as some of them did. It is written,“ The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.”( Exodus 32:6)We should not commit sexual sins, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died.We should not test the Messiah, as some of them did. They were killed by snakes.Don’t speak against God. That’s what some of the people of Israel did. And they were killed by the destroying angel.

You also saw how the Lord your God brought you through the desert. He carried you everywhere you went, just as a father carries his son. And now you have arrived here.”

So I led them out of Egypt. I brought them into the Desert of Sinai.I gave them my rules. I made my laws known to them. The person who obeys them will live by them.I also told them to observe my Sabbath days. That is the sign of the covenant I made with them. I wanted them to know that I made them holy. I am the Lord.“‘ “But in the desert the people of Israel refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They turned their backs on my laws. The person who obeys them will live by them. They totally misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out my great anger on them. I would destroy them in the desert.But I wanted my name to be honored. I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.I also raised my hand and made a promise in the desert. I told my people I would not bring them into the land I had given them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all.But they turned their backs on my laws. They did not obey my rules. They misused my Sabbath days. Their hearts were committed to worshiping the statues of their gods.Then I felt sorry for them. So I did not destroy them. I did not put an end to them in the desert.

But they continued to sin against him. In the desert they refused to obey the Most High God.They were stubborn and tested God. They ordered him to give them the food they wanted.They spoke against God. They said,“ Can God really put food on a table in the desert?It is true that he struck the rock, and streams of water poured out. Huge amounts of water flowed down. But can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”When the Lord heard what they said, he was very angry. His anger broke out like fire against the people of Jacob. He became very angry with Israel.That was because they didn’t believe in God. They didn’t trust in his power to save them.But he gave a command to the skies above. He opened the doors of the heavens.He rained down manna for the people to eat. He gave them the grain of heaven.Mere human beings ate the bread of angels. He sent them all the food they could eat.He made the east wind blow from the heavens. By his power he caused the south wind to blow.He rained down meat on them like dust. He sent them birds like sand on the seashore.He made the birds come down inside their camp. The birds fell all around their tents.People ate until they couldn’t eat any more. He gave them what they had wanted.But even before they had finished eating, God acted. He did it while the food was still in their mouths.His anger rose up against them. He put to death the strongest among them. He struck down Israel’s young men.But even after all that, they kept on sinning. Even after the wonderful things he had done, they still didn’t believe.So he brought their days to an end like a puff of smoke. He ended their years with terror.Every time God killed some of them, the others would seek him. They gladly turned back to him again.They remembered that God was their Rock. They remembered that God Most High had set them free.But they didn’t mean it when they praised him. They lied to him when they spoke.They turned away from him. They weren’t faithful to the covenant he had made with them.But he was full of tender love. He forgave their sins and didn’t destroy his people. Time after time he held back his anger. He didn’t let all his burning anger blaze out.He remembered that they were only human. He remembered they were only a breath of air that drifts by and doesn’t return.How often they refused to obey him in the desert! How often they caused him sorrow in that dry and empty land!Again and again they tested God. They made the Holy One of Israel sad and angry.They didn’t remember his power. They forgot the day he set them free from those who had treated them so badly.

He says,“ Don’t be stubborn as you were at Meribah. Don’t be stubborn as you were that day at Massah in the desert.There your people of long ago really tested me. They did it even though they had seen what I had done for them.For 40 years I was angry with them. I said,‘ Their hearts are always going astray. They do not know how I want them to live.’So when I was angry, I made a promise. I said,‘ They will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.’ ”

“ But our people refused to obey Moses. They would not accept him. In their hearts, they wished they were back in Egypt.They told Aaron,‘ Make us a god who will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him!’( Exodus 32:1)That was the time they made a statue to be their god. It was shaped like a calf. They brought sacrifices to it. They even enjoyed what they had made with their own hands.But God turned away from them. He let them go on worshiping the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets. There it says,“‘ People of Israel, did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for 40 years in the desert?You have taken with you the shrine of your false god Molek. You have taken with you the star of your false god Rephan. You made statues of those gods to worship. So I will send you away from your country.’( Amos 5:25–27) God sent them to Babylon and even farther.

The Israelites ate manna for 40 years. They ate it until they came to a land where people were living. They ate it until they reached the border of Canaan.

Your children will be shepherds here for 40 years. They will suffer because you were not faithful. They will suffer until the last of your bodies lies here in the desert.For 40 years you will suffer for your sins. That is one year for each of the 40 days you checked out the land. You will know what it is like to have me against you.’

And here is what you can be just as sure of. Not one of these people will see the land I promised to give them. They have seen my glory. They have seen the signs I did in Egypt. And they have seen what I did in the desert. But they did not obey me. And they have tested me ten times.