Dunk's Bible Palace

The Motif Searcher: one word across the Douay, the Latin, the Greek and the Hebrew.

The verse in its languages

Vulgate (Clementine)
mortui sunt atque percussi in conspectu Domini.
Septuagint (Swete)
καὶ ἀπέθανον οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ κατείπαντες κατὰ τῆς γῆς πονηρὰ ἐν τῇ πληγῇ ἔναντι Κυρίου·
Hebrew (WLC)
וַיָּמֻ֨תוּ֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים מוֹצִאֵ֥י דִבַּת הָאָ֖רֶץ רָעָ֑ה בַּמַּגֵּפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה

Haydock's commentary

Lord, by pestilence, (ver. 12; Philo,) or by the exterminating angel, 1 Corinthians x. 10. They were burnt to death before the tabernacle, or at least died suddenly. (Jansenius) The Jews have appointed a fast on the 7th of the 6th month, to bewail this event, ver. 39. (Calmet)

From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.

The Fathers on this verse

St Ambrose On the Duties of the Clergy, Chapter VIII. That those who put what is virtuous before what is useful are acceptable to God is shown by the example of Joshua, Caleb, and the other spies

55. The anger of the Lord burst forth, so that He would kill all, but at the prayer of Moses He softened His judgment and put off His vengeance, knowing that He had already sufficiently punished those who were faithless, even if He spared them meanwhile and did not slay the unbelievers. However, He said they should not come to that land which they had refused, as a penalty for their unbelief; but their children and wives, who had not murmured, and who, owing to their sex and age, were guiltless, should receive the promised inheritance of that land. So the bodies of those of twenty years old and upwards fell in the desert. The punishment of the rest was put aside. But they who had gone up with Joshua, and had thought fit to dissuade the people, died forthwith of a great plague. Joshua and Caleb entered the land of promise together with those who were innocent by reason of age or sex.