Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXὌφελον ἀπεθάνομεν ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ, ἢ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ, εἰ ἀπεθάνομεν· καὶ ἱνατί Κύριος εἰσάγει ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν γῆν ταύτην πεσεῖν ἐν πολέμῳ; αἱ γυναῖκες ἡμῶν καὶ τὰ παιδία ἔσονται εἰς διαρπαγήν· νῦν οὖν βέλτιόν ἐστιν ἀποστραφῆναι εἰς Αἴγυπτον. (Ofelon apethanomen en gaʸ Aiguptōi, aʸ en taʸ eraʸmōi tautaʸ, ei apethanomen; kai hinati Kurios eisagei haʸmas eis taʸn gaʸn tautaʸn pesein en polemōi; hai gunaikes haʸmōn kai ta paidia esontai eis diarpagaʸn; nun oun beltion estin apostrafaʸnai eis Aigupton. )
BrTrWould we had died in the land of Egypt! or in this wilderness, would we had died! and why does the Lord bring us into this land to fall in war? our wives and our children shall be for a prey: now then it is better to return into Egypt.
ULTAnd why is Yahweh bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our children will be for plunder. Is it not good for us to return to Egypt?”
USTWhy is Yahweh bringing us to this land, where we men will be killed with swords? And they will take away our wives and children to be their slaves. Instead of going to Canaan, it would be better for us to return to Egypt!”
BSBWhy is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
WEBBEWhy does the LORD bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be captured or killed! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return into Egypt?”
NETWhy has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”
LSVAnd why is YHWH bringing us to this land to fall by the sword, [that] our wives and our infants become a prey? Is it not good for us to return to Egypt?”
FBVWhy is the Lord taking us to this country only to get us killed? Our wives and children will be captured and taken away as slaves! Wouldn't we be better off going back to Egypt?”
T4TWhy is Yahweh bringing us to this land, where we men will be killed with swords? And our wives and children will be taken away to be slaves. Instead of going to Canaan. It would be better for us to return to Egypt!”
LEBWhy did Yahweh bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little children will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
BBEWhy is the Lord taking us into this land to come to our death by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will get into strange hands: would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?
JPSAnd wherefore doth the LORD bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey; were it not better for us to return into Egypt?'
ASVAnd wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
DRAWould God that we had died in Egypt and would God we may die in this vast wilderness, and that the Lord may not bring us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives and children be led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt?
YLTand why is Jehovah bringing us in unto this land to fall by the sword? our wives and our infants are become a prey; is it not good for us to turn back to Egypt?'
DrbyAnd why is Jehovah bringing us to this land that we may fall by the sword, that our wives and our little ones may become a prey? Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?
RVAnd wherefore doth the LORD bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones shall be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
WbstrAnd why hath the LORD brought us to this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
KJB-1769And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? (And wherefore hath/has the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? )
KJB-1611And wherefore hath the LORD brought vs vnto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wiues, and our children should be a pray? Were it not better for vs to returne into Egypt? (And wherefore hath/has the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives, and our children should be a pray? Were it not better for us to return into Egypt?)
BshpsWherfore hath the Lorde brought vs vnto this lande to fall vpon the sworde, and that our wyues and our chyldren should be a pray? Were it not better that we returne vnto Egypt agayne? (Wherefore hath/has the Lord brought us unto this land to fall upon the sword, and that our wives and our children should be a pray? Were it not better that we return unto Egypt again?)
GnvaWherefore nowe hath the Lord brought vs into this lande to fall vpon the sworde? our wiues, and our children shall be a pray: were it not better for vs to returne into Egypt? (Wherefore now hath/has the Lord brought us into this land to fall upon the sword? our wives, and our children shall be a pray: were it not better for us to return into Egypt? )
CvdlWherfore bryngeth the LORDE vs in to this lande, that oure wyues shulde fall thorow the swerde, and ouer children be a praye? Is it not better, that we go agayne in to Egipte? (Wherefore bringeth/brings the LORD us in to this land, that our wives should fall through the sword, and over children be a praye? Is it not better, that we go again in to Egypt?)
WyclWe wolden that we hadden be deed in Egipt, and not in this waast wildirnesse; we wolden that we perischen, and that the Lord lede vs not in to this lond, lest we fallen bi swerd, and oure wyues and fre children ben led prisoneris; whether it is not betere to turne ayen in to Egipt? (We wolden that we had be dead in Egypt, and not in this waast wilderness; we wolden that we perischen, and that the Lord lead us not in to this land, lest we fallen by sword, and our wives and free children been led prisoneris; whether it is not better to turn again in to Egypt?)
Luthführet uns der HErr in dies Land, daß unsere Weiber durchs Schwert fallen und unsere Kinder ein Raub werden? Ist‘s nicht besser, wir ziehen wieder nach Ägypten? (führet us/to_us/ourselves the/of_the LORD in this/these Land, that unsere women durchs sword fallen and unsere children a plunder become? Ist‘s not besser, we/us ziehen again after Egypt?)
ClVgUtinam mortui essemus in Ægypto: et in hac vasta solitudine utinam pereamus, et non inducat nos Dominus in terram istam, ne cadamus gladio, et uxores ac liberi nostri ducantur captivi. Nonne melius est reverti in Ægyptum? (Utinam mortui essemus in Ægypto: and in hac vasta solitudine utinam pereamus, and not/no inducat we Master in the_earth/land that_one, not cadamus gladio, and uxores ac liberi our ducantur captivi. Isn't_it melius it_is reverti in Ægyptum? )
14:1-45 The testimony of the faithful spies Joshua and Caleb was rejected, and rebellion spread through the entire community. Only Moses’ intervention saved Israel from complete destruction. Those who failed to obey God died during a forty-year wilderness sojourn.
(Occurrence 0) Why did Yahweh bring us to this land to die by the sword?
(Some words not found in UHB: and,to/for,why? YHWH bringing DOM,us to/towards the=earth/land the,this to,fall in/on/at/with,sword wives,our and,little_ones,our become as,plunder am=not good to/for=us go_back towards=Miʦrayim/(Egypt) )
The people use this question in order to complain and accuse Yahweh of treating them unfairly. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question as a statement. Alternate translation: “Yahweh should not have brought us to this land only to die by the sword.”
(Some words not found in UHB: and,to/for,why? YHWH bringing DOM,us to/towards the=earth/land the,this to,fall in/on/at/with,sword wives,our and,little_ones,our become as,plunder am=not good to/for=us go_back towards=Miʦrayim/(Egypt) )
Here “the sword” represents either being killed by the sword or being killed in battle. Alternate translation: “to die when people attack us with swords” or “to die in battle” or
(Occurrence 0) Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?
(Some words not found in UHB: and,to/for,why? YHWH bringing DOM,us to/towards the=earth/land the,this to,fall in/on/at/with,sword wives,our and,little_ones,our become as,plunder am=not good to/for=us go_back towards=Miʦrayim/(Egypt) )
The people use this question to encourage people to agree with them that it would be better to return to Egypt. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question as a statement. Alternate translation: “It would be better for us to return to Egypt than to try to conquer Canaan.”
After the Israelites received the law on Mount Sinai, which may have been located at Khashm et-Tarif (see also “The Route of the Exodus”), they traveled to Kadesh-barnea, a distance that took eleven days “by the way of Mount Seir” (Deuteronomy 1:2). The phrase “by the way of Mount Seir” suggests that more than one route existed between Mount Sinai and Kadesh, as shown here, but the road the Israelites took probably ran alongside the mountainous region of Seir. This route would have offered greater access to water from wells, natural springs, and seasonal streams flowing from the hills of Seir–a critical necessity for a large group traveling through this very arid region. Nearly every location identified on this map was essentially a small community centered around one of these life-enabling sources of water. After reaching Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, the Israelites prepared to enter Canaan by sending spies to scout out the land. But when ten of the twelve spies brought back news about the strength of the Canaanites, the people became afraid to enter the land, so the Lord punished them by condemning them to travel in the wilderness for forty years until that generation died off. Some Israelites repented and tried to enter the land, but they were beaten back to Hormah by the Amalekites and Canaanites. So for forty years the Israelites traveled from place to place, probably in the general area of Kadesh-barnea, though very few locations mentioned are able to be established with much certainty. As the forty years of traveling drew to a close, the Israelites prepared again to travel to Canaan by requesting permission from the king of Edom to pass through his land. When the king refused, the Israelites “turned away” from the Edomites and set out from Kadesh to travel to Mount Hor. The Jewish historian Josephus located Mount Hor at Jebel Nebi Harun, a very tall mountain in eastern Edom, but this has been rejected by many scholars in favor of other sites such as Jebel Madeira to the northeast of Kadesh. This author is convinced, however, that any candidate for Mount Hor must be sought to the south of Kadesh-barnea. Numbers 33:30 and Deuteronomy 10:6 mention that, during their wilderness travels, the Israelites camped at Moseroth/Moserah, which was apparently located at Mount Hor, since both Moseroth/Moserah and Mount Hor are cited as the place where Aaron died (Numbers 21:29-29; 33:37-39; Deuteronomy 10:6-9). It is difficult to envision the Israelites traveling back to the edge of Canaan after suffering defeat there the last time they attempted to enter the land. These same passages also note that after their stay at Moseroth/Moserah the Israelites traveled to Hor-haggidgad/Gudgodah (probably located along the Wadi Khadakhid) and then to Jotbathah, with no mention of passing through Kadesh, which they would have had to do if Mount Hor was north of Kadesh (since they were avoiding the land of Edom). Also, in Deuteronomy 2:1 Moses says that after the Israelites left Kadesh, “we journeyed back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me and skirted Mount Seir for many days,” and Aaron’s death on Mount Hor fits best during this time. Similarly, Numbers 21:4 says “from Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom,” but there would have been no way to the Red Sea around the land of Edom if Mount Hor were located northeast of Kadesh. One element of the wilderness narratives that appears to favor a northeast location for Mount Hor, however, is the story of the king of Arad, which the book of Numbers (chapters 21 and 33) places immediately after the death of Aaron on Mount Hor. At first glance, the narrative seems to imply that the king attacked the Israelites at Mount Hor, which fits better with a northern location. Yet, it is also possible that the story is simply noting that it was after the Israelites’ arrival at Mount Hor that the king of Arad first learned of the Israelites’ renewed intentions to enter Canaan, perhaps as a result of their request to pass through Edom. But it may have been later that the king of Arad actually engaged them in battle, perhaps as they were passing north of Zalmonah and appeared to be ready to enter Canaan by way of Arad (see Numbers 33:41-42 and the map “The Journey to Abel-shittim”). For these reasons, this author believes that Har Karkom is the best candidate for the location of Mount Hor. The site is appropriately located at the edge of Seir and along the way to the Red Sea. This site’s role as an ancient cultic center is also well established. Perhaps Aaron’s priestly duties and authority in Israel had grown out of a similar role he had previously held at Mount Hor (see also Numbers 12:1-2; Deuteronomy 33:2; Judges 5:4-5), where he was eventually buried.
