So I spake unto you
The words, the orders he had received from the Lord to deliver to them:
and ye would not hear;
so as to obey them, and act according to them:
but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord:
as before, by not going up when he would have had them gone, and now by attempting it when he forbid them:
and went presumptuously up into the hill;
that is, of themselves, in their own strength, disregarding the commandment of God, and what they were threatened with; this they endeavoured to do, for they were not able to effect it; the Amorites, perceiving them to make up the hill, came pouring down upon them in great numbers, and stopped them, and obliged them to retreat; see ( Numbers 14:45 ) .