Numbers 14:42

Summary

The verse forbids the Israelites from going up (into battle or the land) because Yehovah is not present among them. It warns that without this divine presence, they will be defeated before their enemies.

Key words

• 'al ("may not", H0408) — negation used with the jussive to form a direct prohibition: "you must not go up."
• ta'aLu ("you go up", H5927G) — qal jussive, 2nd person masculine plural, expressing a command against future action.
• 'ein ("not", H0369) — existential negator in construct form, denying the presence of something ("there is no...").
• kirbe ("midst", H7130G) — masculine singular construct, "midst of," combined with the suffix khem ("your") to mean "in your midst."
• tiNagefu ("you will be defeated", H5062) — niphal imperfect, passive sense: "you will be struck/defeated," describing an ongoing or future consequence.

What the text says

The verse divides into two linked clauses. The first is a direct prohibition: 'al-ta'aLu ("you shall not go up"), using the negation 'al (H0408) with the jussive form of ta'aLu (H5927G). This construction is standard for immediate commands, distinct from a simple future negation. The reason for the prohibition follows, introduced by ki ("for", H3588A): 'ein Yehovah be-kirbekhem ("YHWH is not in your midst"). Here 'ein (H0369) functions as a construct-based existential negator, and kirbe (H7130G) plus the suffix khem locates the absence specifically "in the midst of you (plural)."

The second clause, joined by ve- ("and"), states lo tiNagefu lifney 'oyeveikhem ("you will not be struck before your enemies"). The verb tiNagefu (H5062) is in the niphal, marking the subject as recipient of the action ("be struck" rather than "strike"), and the imperfect aspect allows it to be read as future or as an outcome dependent on the preceding condition. The phrase lifney ("before", H6440G) plus 'oyeveikhem ("your enemies", H0341) describes confrontation, literally "before the face of your enemies."

Differences between versions

The Hebrew states a negative outcome: "you will not be struck" (lo tiNagefu). The LXX (Swete) renders this positively — καὶ πεσεῖσθε, "and you will fall" — omitting the negation present in the Hebrew and describing the consequence as an assured defeat rather than a warning against one. The Vulgate’s ne corruatis ("lest you fall") preserves a negative/purpose construction closer to a warning, though it also shifts the verb to "fall" rather than "be struck." The BSB reorders the material, placing "lest you be struck down" before the causal clause about Yehovah’s absence, differing from the Hebrew sequence in which the reason clause precedes the consequence clause.