Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 14:3

"And wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?" — Numbers 14:3 (ASV)

And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land...? — Better, And why does the Lord bring us into this land? — that is, the land of Canaan, as clearly appears from the words that follow (Compare Numbers 15:18, where the same Hiphil participle is used). The destruction that the Israelites feared at this time was not a destruction by famine or drought, but by the sword of the Amorites and of the children of the Anakim. (Compare Deuteronomy 1:27-28.)

That our wives and our children should be a prey— that is, should fall into the hands of the enemy after their entrance into the land of Canaan. (Compare Exodus 15:14-17.) It is possible, however, that the land through which the Israelites were passing may be included here and in Numbers 14:14.