13
But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his counsel.
14
In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wasteland they put God to the test.
15
So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease upon them.
16
In the camp they grew envious of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17
The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it buried the company of Abiram.
18
Fire blazed among their followers;
a flame consumed the wicked.
19
At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20
They exchanged their Glory
for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21
They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22
miracles in the land of Ham
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23
So he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.
24
Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.
25
They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.
26
So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the desert,
27
make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.
28
They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29
they provoked the Lord to anger by their wicked deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30
But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was checked.
31
This was credited to him as righteousness
for endless generations to come.
32
By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;