Numbers 13
1 And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying,
And the LORD said to Moses,
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler 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 by the commandment of YHWH sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men 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, Oshea 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, namely, of the tribe 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, Geuel the son of Machi.
and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Yahoshua.
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 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
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 the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many.
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications?
20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
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 searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.
22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before 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 unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the 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 called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
After forty days the men returned from spying out the land,
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit 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 told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit 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 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover 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 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast 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 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; 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 that went up with him said, We be 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 brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
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 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
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!”
