Numbers 14:32-33

14:32 But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, 14:33 and your children will wander ¹  in the wilderness forty years and suffer for your unfaithfulness, ²  until your dead bodies lie finished ³  in the wilderness.

Numbers 32:13-15

32:13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before ⁴  the Lord was finished. ⁵  32:14 Now look, you are standing in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. 32:15 For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon ⁶  them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction.” ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 4:3-6

4:3 You have witnessed what the Lord did at Baal Peor, ⁸  how he ⁹  eradicated from your midst everyone who followed Baal Peor. ¹⁰  4:4 But you who remained faithful to the Lord your God are still alive to this very day, every one of you. 4:5 Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in ¹¹  the land you are about to enter and possess. 4:6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding ¹²  to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise ¹³  people.”

Psalms 78:6-8

78:6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,

might know about them.

They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. ¹⁴ 

78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.

They will not forget the works of God,

and they will obey ¹⁵  his commands.

78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,

who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation that was not committed

and faithful to God. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn The word is “shepherds.” It means that the people would be wilderness nomads, grazing their flock on available land.

² tn Heb “you shall bear your whoredoms.” The imagery of prostitution is used throughout the Bible to reflect spiritual unfaithfulness, leaving the covenant relationship and following after false gods. Here it is used generally for their rebellion in the wilderness, but not for following other gods.

³ tn The infinitive is from תָּמַם (tamam), which means “to be complete.” The word is often used to express completeness in a good sense – whole, blameless, or the like. Here and in v. 35 it seems to mean “until your deaths have been completed.” See also Gen 47:15; Deut 2:15.

⁴ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

⁵ tn The verb is difficult to translate, since it has the idea of “complete, finish” (תָּמָם, tamam). It could be translated “consumed” in this passage (so KJV, ASV); NASB “was destroyed.”

⁶ tn The construction uses a verbal hendiadys with the verb “to add” serving to modify the main verb.

⁷ tn Heb “and you will destroy all this people.”

⁸ tc The LXX and Syriac read “to Baal Peor,” that is, the god worshiped at that place; see note on the name “Beth Peor” in Deut 3:29.

⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

¹⁰ tn Or “followed the Baal of Peor” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV), referring to the pagan god Baal.

¹¹ tn Heb “in the midst of” (so ASV).

¹² tn Heb “it is wisdom and understanding.”

¹³ tn Heb “wise and understanding.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “keep.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).