²⁸ So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,^(A) declares the Lord, I will do to you^(B) the very thing I heard you say: ²⁹ In this wilderness your bodies will fall^(C)—every one of you twenty years old or more^(D) who was counted in the census^(E) and who has grumbled against me. ³⁰ Not one of you will enter the land^(F) I swore with uplifted hand^(G) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh^(H) and Joshua son of Nun.^{(I) 31} As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.^{(J) 32} But as for you, your bodies will fall^(K) in this wilderness. ³³ Your children will be shepherds here for forty years,^(L) suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. ³⁴ For forty years^(M)—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land^(N)—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’

²⁴ The Lord Almighty has sworn,^(A)

⁹ For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds^(A) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride^(B) and bridegroom in this place.^(C)

The Lord’s Answer