This verse summarizes the basic content of 14.33-35.

And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And introduces the consequence of the LORD’s oath, so some languages may prefer to translate it “So” (NET Bible) or “Then.” For the figurative Hebrew expression rendered anger was kindled, see 11.1.

And he made them wander in the wilderness forty years: The form of the Hebrew verb rendered made … wander is causative. Sometimes this verb refers to a person’s unstable movements, meaning “totter” or “stagger,” but here it conveys the notion of moving from place to place with no fixed home base (see the comments on “wanderer” at Gen 4.12 in A Handbook on Genesis). For the Hebrew word rendered wilderness (midbar), see 1.1.

Until all the generation … was consumed is literally “until the completing of all the generation.” New Revised Standard Version has “until all the generation … had disappeared,” which avoids the misunderstanding that the old generation was consumed by fire or some other disaster. Other helpful models here are “until that whole generation … was dead” (Good News Translation), “until the entire generation … had died” (New Living Translation), and “until the whole generation … was gone” (New International Version; similarly Revised English Bible). In languages that do not have a specific word for generation, this clause may be rendered “until all those people … had died.”

That had done evil in the sight of the LORD: This is the only time that this clause occurs in Numbers. It may be rendered “that had done what the LORD considers wrong” or “that had done what displeases the LORD.”

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 .