< Numbers 13 >
1 And the Lord said to Moses,
And the LORD said to Moses,
2 Send men to get knowledge about the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from every tribe of their fathers you are to send a man, every one a chief among them.
“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”
3 And Moses sent them from the waste land of Paran as the Lord gave orders, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,
4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua, the son of Zaccur.
and these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori.
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph.
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Nun.
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti, the son of Raphu.
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi.
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, that is of the family of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi.
from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli.
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur, the son of Michael
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi, the son of Vophsi.
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Gevel, the son of Machi.
and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to get knowledge about the land. And Moses gave to Hoshea, the son of Nun, the name of Joshua.
These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.
17 So Moses sent them to have a look at the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go up into the South and into the hill-country;
When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.
18 And see what the land is like; and if the people living in it are strong or feeble, small or great in number;
See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many.
19 And what sort of land they are living in, if it is good or bad; and what their living-places are, tent-circles or walled towns;
Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications?
20 And if the land is fertile or poor, and if there is wood in it or not. And be of good heart, and come back with some of the produce of the land. Now it was the time when the first grapes were ready.
Is the soil fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous, and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and got a view of the land, from the waste land of Zin to Rehob, on the way to Hamath.
So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.
22 They went up into the South and came to Hebron; and Ahiman and Sheshai and Talmai, the children of Anak, were living there. (Now the building of Hebron took place seven years before that of Zoan in Egypt.)
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
23 And they came to the valley of Eshcol, and cutting down a vine-branch with its grapes, two of them took it on a rod between them; and they took some pomegranates and figs.
When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.
24 That place was named the valley of Eshcol because of the grapes which the children of Israel took from there.
Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
25 At the end of forty days they came back from viewing the land.
After forty days the men returned from spying out the land,
26 And they came back to Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel, to Kadesh in the waste land of Paran; and gave an account to them and to all the people and let them see the produce of the land.
and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they said, We came to the land where you sent us, and truly it is flowing with milk and honey: and here is some of the produce of it.
And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit!
28 But the people living in the land are strong, and the towns are walled and very great; further, we saw the children of Anak there.
Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.
29 And the Amalekites are in the South; and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill-country; and the Canaanites by the sea and by the side of Jordan.
The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb made signs to the people to keep quiet, and said to Moses, Let us go up straight away and take this land; for we are well able to overcome it.
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.
But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”
32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad account of the land they had been to see, saying, This land through which we went is a land causing destruction to those living in it; and all the people we saw there are men of more than common size.
So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature.
33 There we saw those great men, the sons of Anak, offspring of the Nephilim: and we seemed to ourselves no more than insects, and so we seemed to them.
We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”