And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land: See 13.2.

And who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him: For the Hebrew word rendered congregation (ʿedah), which is better translated “community” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), see the comments on 1.2. For murmur see verse 2.

By bringing up an evil report against the land: See 13.32, where it says “an evil report of the land.” Here the Hebrew preposition for against is added. New Revised Standard Version renders this clause well, saying “by bringing a bad report about the land.”

The men who brought up an evil report of the land: This repetition highlights the nature of the ten spies’ sin and therefore justifies the LORD’s severe punishment. The Hebrew phrase for an evil report differs from the one used in the previous verse. There only the Hebrew noun dibbah occurs, which by itself means “a discrediting report,” but here both the word dibbah and the Hebrew adjective raʿah (meaning “evil”) occur. This adjective is added for the sake of emphasis, so translators should reflect it in some way; for example, they may say “a false and evil report” (similarly Alter). This is recommended especially if translators render this whole clause only once in verses 36-37, as in Good News Translation.

Died by plague before the LORD: The Hebrew term for plague is quite general, so the translation should not be too specific. This word may be rendered “deadly disease” (Bijbel in Gewone Taal) or “killing sickness.” Good News Translation specifies the LORD as the actor in this clause by saying “the LORD struck them with a disease, and they died.” However, the Hebrew expression for before the LORD indicates that something else is needed in a translation; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says that these spies died “by the will of the LORD,” and Levine has “in the presence of YHWH.” De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling is similar with “near the sanctuary,” but this rendering is more speculative (compare 3.4).

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 .