23. So he said he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stood up for them. He kept God's anger from destroying them.
24. Later on, they refused to enter the pleasant land of Canaan. They didn't believe God's promise.
25. In their tents they told the Lord how unhappy they were. They didn't obey him.
26. So he lifted up his hand and promised with an oath that he would make them die in the desert.
27. He promised he would scatter their children's children among the nations. He would make them die in other lands.
28. They joined in worshiping the Baal that was worshiped at Peor. They ate food that had been offered to gods that aren't even alive.
29. Their evil ways made the Lord angry. So a plague broke out among them.
30. But Phinehas stood up and took action. Then the plague stopped.
31. What Phinehas did made him right with the Lord. It will be remembered for all time to come.
32. By the waters of Meribah the Lord's people made him angry. Moses got in trouble because of them.
33. They refused to obey the Spirit of God. So Moses spoke without thinking.
34. They didn't destroy the nations in Canaan as the Lord had commanded them.
35. Instead, they mixed with those nations and adopted their ways.
36. They worshiped statues of their gods. That became a trap for them.
37. They sacrificed their sons and daughters as offerings to demons.
38. They killed those who weren't guilty of doing anything wrong. They killed their own sons and daughters. They sacrificed them as offerings to statues of the gods of Canaan. The land became "unclean" because of the blood of their children.
39. The people polluted themselves by what they had done. They weren't faithful to the Lord.
40. So the Lord became angry with his people. He turned away from his own children.
41. He handed them over to the nations. Their enemies ruled over them.