Deuteronomy 9:23

וּבִשְׁלֹחַ יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם מִקָּדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ לֵאמֹר עֲלוּ וּרְשׁוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָכֶם וַתַּמְרוּ אֶת־פִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְלֹא הֶֽאֱמַנְתֶּם לוֹ וְלֹא שְׁמַעְתֶּם בְּקֹלֽוֹ׃

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The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וּבִשְׁלֹ֨חַ יְהוָ֜ה אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִקָּדֵ֤שׁ בַּרְנֵ֙עַ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר עֲלוּ֙ וּרְשׁ֣וּ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לָכֶ֑ם וַתַּמְר֗וּ אֶת־פִּ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֤א הֶֽאֱמַנְתֶּם֙ ל֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ם בְּקֹלֽוֹ׃

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ ὅτε ἐξαπέστειλεν Κύριος ὑμᾶς ἐκ Καδὴς Βαρνὴ λέγων Ἀνάβητε καὶ κληρονομήσατε τὴν γῆν ἢν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, καὶ ἠπειθήσατε τῷ ῥήματι κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔπι. στεύσατε αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐκ εἰσηκούσατε τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

et quando misit vos de Cadesbarne, dicens: Ascendite, et possidete terram, quam dedi vobis, et contempsistis imperium Domini Dei vestri, et non credidistis ei, neque vocem ejus audire voluistis:

Spanish

Cuando Yehová los envió desde Cades Barnea, diciendo: “Suban y tomen la tierra que les he dado”, se rebelaron contra el mandamiento de Yehová su Dios, y no le creyeron ni escucharon su voz.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Y cuando Jehová os envió desde Cades-barnea, diciendo, Subid y poseed la tierra que yo os he dado; también fuisteis rebeldes al dicho de Jehová vuestro Dios, y no lo creisteis, ni obedecisteis á su voz.

English

And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “ Go up and possess the land that I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him.

What the text says

Summary

Moses recalls the moment Yehovah sent the Israelites from Kadesh Barnea with the command to go up and take possession of the land. The verse states that the people rebelled against Yehovah's command, did not believe him, and did not listen to his voice.

Key words

  • sh.Lo.ach ("sent", H7971G) — qal infinitive construct with the preceding preposition vi ("when"), forming a temporal clause: "and when he sent."
  • tam.Ru ("you rebelled against", H4784) — hiphil narrative (vav-consecutive) form, continuing the story sequence begun by va. ("and"); the hiphil stem here carries a causative/intensive nuance of active rebellion rather than simple disobedience.
  • pi ("mouth of", H6310I) — masculine singular construct noun, linked to Yehovah to form "the mouth of Yehovah," i.e., his spoken command.
  • he.'e.man.Tem ("you believed", H0539) — hiphil perfect, completed action, negated by Lo' ("not", H3808): "you did not believe."
  • she.ma'.Tem ("you listened", H8085H) — qal perfect, completed action, paired with ko.L ("voice", H6963A) in construct with the suffix "his," forming "his voice"; negated by a second Lo'.

What the text says

The verse opens with a temporal construction using the infinitive sh.Lo.ach ("sent") governed by the preposition vi ("when"), producing "and when Yehovah sent you." The object marker 'et plus suffix khem marks "you" as the object of the sending. The place name Ka.Desh Bar.Ne.a' specifies the location of departure. The command itself is introduced by the infinitive Mor ("saying"), followed by two qal imperatives, 'a.Lu ("go up") and re.Shu ("take possession of"), both addressed to the plural "you." The object of possession is ha.'A.retz ("the land"), qualified by the relative clause 'a.Sher na.Ta.ti la.khem ("which I have given to you"), where na.Ta.ti is a qal perfect first-person form expressing a completed act attributed to Yehovah.

The narrative then shifts with the vav-consecutive form tam.Ru ("you rebelled against"), a hiphil form governing the object phrase 'et pi Yehovah 'e.Lo.hei.khem ("the mouth of Yehovah your God"), literally "against the mouth," i.e., the spoken instruction. Two further clauses follow, each introduced by ve. Lo' ("and not"): he.'e.man.Tem lo ("you did not believe him," hiphil perfect with third-person suffix) and she.ma'.Tem be.ko.lo ("you did not listen to his voice," qal perfect with the preposition be attached to ko.L + suffix). The repetition of negated perfect verbs emphasizes a sequence of completed failures: rebellion, lack of belief, lack of listening.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders pi ("mouth", H6310I) as ῥήματι ("word/utterance"), and he.'e.man.Tem as ἐπιστεύσατε, both consistent in sense with the Hebrew. The Vulgate renders tam.Ru ("you rebelled against") as contempsistis imperium ("you despised the command"), shifting the image from "mouth" to "command," where the Hebrew text specifically names the pi ("mouth") of Yehovah as the object of rebellion.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.