< Numbers 13 >

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
And there the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a prince among them.”
Send men to view the land of Chanaan, which I will give to the children of Israel, one of every tribe, of the rulers.
3 Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of the LORD. All of them were men who were heads of the children of Israel.
Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending from the desert of Pharan, principal men, whose names are these:
4 These were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
Of the tribe of Ruben, Sammua the son of Zechur.
5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
Of the tribe of Simeon, Saphat the son of Hurl.
6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
Of the tribe of Juda, Caleb the son of Jephone.
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
Of the tribe of Ephraim, Osee the son of Nun.
9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
Of the tribe of Benjamin, Phalti the son of Raphu.
10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
Of the tribe of Zabulon, Geddiel the son of Sodi.
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
Of the tribe of Joseph, of the sceptre of Manasses, Gaddi the son of Susi.
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
Of the tribe of Aser, Sthur the son of Michael.
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
Of the tribe of Nephtali, Nahabi the son of Vapsi.
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
Of the tribe of Gad, Guel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men who Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to view the land: and he called Osee the son of Nun, Josue.
17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way by the South, and go up into the hill country.
And Moses sent them to view the land of Chanaan, and said to them: Go you up by the south side. And when you shall come to the mountains,
18 See the land, what it is; and the people who dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many;
View the land, of what sort it is: and the people that are the inhabitants thereof, whether they be strong or weak: few in number or many:
19 and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds;
The land itself, whether it be good or bad: what manner of cities, walled or without walls:
20 and what the land is, whether it is fertile or poor, whether there is wood therein, or not. Be courageous, and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first-ripe grapes.
The ground, fat or barren, woody or without trees. Be of good courage, and bring us of the fruits of the land. Now it was the time when the first ripe grapes are fit to be eaten.
21 So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
And when they were gone up, they viewed the land from the desert of Sin, unto Rohob as you enter into Emath.
22 They went up by the South, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
And they went up at the south side, and came to Hebron, where were Achiman and Sisai and Tholmai the sons of Enac. For Hebron was built seven years before Tanis the city of Egypt.
23 They came to the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it on a staff between two. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs.
And going forward as far as the torrent of the cluster of grapes, they cut off a branch with its cluster of grapes, which two men carried upon a lever. They took also of the pomegranates and of the figs of that place:
24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from there.
Which was called Nehelescol, that is to say, the torrent of the cluster of grapes, because from thence the children of Israel had carried a cluster of grapes.
25 They returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days.
And they that went to spy out the land returned after forty days, having gone round all the country,
26 They went and came to Moses, to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them and to all the congregation. They showed them the fruit of the land.
And came to Moses and Aaron and to all the assembly of the children of Israel to the desert of Pharan, which is in Cades. And speaking to them and to all the multitude, they shewed them the fruits of the land:
27 They told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
And they related and said: We came into the land to which thou sentest us, which in very deed floweth with milk and honey as may be known by these fruits:
28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the children of Anak there.
But it hath very strong inhabitants, and the cities are great and walled. We saw there the race of Enac.
29 Amalek dwells in the land of the South. The Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country. The Canaanite dwells by the sea, and along the side of the Jordan.”
Amalec dwelleth in the south, the Hethite and the Jebusite and the Amorrhite in the mountains: but the Chanaanite abideth by the sea and near the streams of the Jordan.
30 Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let’s go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it!”
In the mean time Caleb, to still the murmuring of the people that rose against Moses, said: Let us go up and possess the land, for we shall be able to conquer it.
31 But the men who went up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”
But the others, that had been with him, said: No, we are not able to go up to this people, because they are stronger than we.
32 They brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out to the children of Israel, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people who we saw in it are men of great stature.
And they spoke ill of the land, which they had viewed, before the children of Israel, saying: The land which we have viewed, devoureth its inhabitants: the people, that we beheld, are of a tall stature.
33 There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
There we saw certain monsters of the sons of Enac, of the giant kind: in comparison of whom, we seemed like locusts.

< Numbers 13 >