Numbers 13
1 The Lord told Moses,
And the LORD said to Moses,
2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, the country I'm giving to the Israelites. Choose one of the leaders from each of the tribes to go and do this.”
“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 Moses did as the Lord had ordered and sent the men out from the Desert of Paran. They were all leaders of the Israelites.
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 Their names were: Shammua son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben.
and these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 Shaphat, son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon.
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah.
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 Igal, son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar.
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 Hoshea, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim.
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 Palti son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin.
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 Gaddiel, son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun.
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 Gaddi, son of Susi, from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph).
from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 Ammiel, son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan.
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 Sethur, son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher.
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 Nahbi, son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali.
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 Geuel, son of Machi, from the tribe of Gad.
and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.
16 These were the names of the men that Moses sent to explore the country. Moses called Hoshea 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 Moses sent them out to explore the land of Canaan, telling them, “Go through the Negev and on 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 See what the place looks like, and find out about the people living there—are they strong or weak? Are there many of them or only a few?
See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many.
19 Is the land where they're living good or bad? Are their towns like open camps, or do they have defensive walls?
Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications?
20 Is the soil productive or not? Is it forested? Be brave, and bring back some of the country's fruit.” (It was the beginning of the grape harvest.)
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 the men went and explored the land all the way from the Desert of Zin to Rehob, bear Lebo-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 through the Negev and arrived in Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. This town was built seven years before the Egyptian town of Zoan.
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 When they arrived at the Valley of Eshcol they chopped down a branch that had just one bunch of grapes. They had to carry it on a pole held between two men. They also collected 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 (The place was named the Valley of Eshcol because of the bunch of grapes they took from there.)
Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
25 Forty days later the men returned from exploring the country.
After forty days the men returned from spying out the land,
26 They went to see Moses and Aaron, and all the Israelites gathered there at their camp in Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave a report before everyone and showed them the fruit they had brought back from the country.
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 This is the report they gave to Moses: “We went and explored the country you sent us to, and it is definitely very productive, as if it was flowing with milk and honey. Just look at some of its fruit!
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 there are strong, and their towns are big and have defensive walls. We also saw some descendants 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 The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live on the sea coast and also beside the 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 asked for quiet as the people stood before Moses and told them, “Let's go and take over the land. We can conquer the country, no doubt about 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 with him disagreed. “We can't go and fight these people! They're much stronger than us!”
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 They spread a negative report among the Israelites about the country they had explored. They told people, “The country we explored destroys the people that live there. Plus everyone we saw was really big!
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 We even saw giants there—people descended from Anak the giant! Compared to them we looked like grasshoppers, and we must have looked like that to them too!”
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!”
