And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron: In verse 11 things might still appear to be all right. However, verse 12 makes it clear that this is not the case, so Good News Translation renders the conjunction And as “But” to introduce the contrast. Good News Translation also renders the verb said as “reprimanded,” which fits this context well.
Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel: Compare 14.11. Good News Translation expresses the connection between the two Hebrew verbs here more clearly by saying “Because you did not have enough faith to acknowledge my holy power before the people of Israel.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh offers a similar translation, but renders the second Hebrew verb more accurately as follows: “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people.” NET Bible is similar with “Because you did not trust me enough to show me as holy before the Israelites,” and so is New Living Translation with “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel.” In some languages it will be more natural to have two separate sentences here, for example, “You have not had faith in [or, put your full trust in] me. You have not shown to the Israelites that I am the true holy God. For this reason…” (similarly Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). NET Bible has the following helpful footnote on these two clauses: “He [Moses] was supposed to have acted in a way that would have shown God to be distinct, different, holy. Instead, he gave the impression that God was capricious and hostile.” As mentioned at verse 10, Moses, apparently with a certain degree of anger and/or pride, claimed that he and Aaron would be the ones who would cause water to come from the rock. The phrase in the eyes of the people of Israel indicates that they committed a public sin.
Therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them: The conjunction therefore emphasizes the result that Moses and Aaron would not enter the promised land of Canaan. Human leadership is frail and prone to failure to reach its goals. Rashi suggested that if Moses and Aaron had not disobeyed the LORD in front of the people and if Moses had only spoken to the rock, they would have been allowed to enter the Promised Land. Rashbam (or perhaps a scribe who prepared a copy of his commentary) clearly struggled with this verse when he wrote the following: “he [Moses] thought that talking to the rock meant hitting it … Moses, our rabbi, could not have transgressed God’s word except inadvertently…” (page 251). However, that is not the picture that the biblical text gives us here. For the Hebrew word rendered assembly (qahal), see verse 4. The Hebrew verb translated I have given has a perfect verb form (compare 13.2). This verb form indicates that God is fully committed to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. In some languages this commitment may be expressed by using a present or near future tense; for example, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible says “I give,” and New Living Translation has “I am giving.” Other languages may use a continuative or customary verbal aspect for this purpose. In some languages a special verb may be needed to express what the LORD is declaring here, for example, “bestow,” “grant,” “assign,” or “allot.” A possible model for this clause is “therefore you will not lead this assembly into the land I have promised to give them.”
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .