< Numbers 13 >
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
And there, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Send thou men, that they may spy out 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 prince among them.
“Send men, who may examine the land of Canaan, which I will give to the sons of Israel, one from the rulers of each tribe.”
3 And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of the LORD: all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending, from the desert of Paran, leading men, whose names are these:
4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
from the tribe of Ruben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;
5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;
6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hosea the son of Nun;
9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;
10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
from the tribe of Zebulon, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, [namely], of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
from the tribe of Joseph, of the scepter of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;
13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
from the tribe of Gad, Guel the 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 Joshua.
These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to examine the land. And he called Hosea, the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way by the South, and go up into the mountains:
And so, Moses sent them to examine the land of Canaan, and he said to them: “Ascend by the south side. And when you arrive at the mountains,
18 and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, whether they be few or many;
consider the land, as to what kind it may be, and the people, who are its inhabitants, whether they may be strong or weak, whether they may be few in number 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 camps, or in strong holds;
and the land itself, whether it is good or bad, what kind of cities, walled or without walls,
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.
the soil, rich or barren, forested or without trees. Be strong, and bring us some of the fruits of the land.” Now it was the time when the first ripe grapes were ready to be eaten.
21 So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, to the entering in of Hamath.
And when they had ascended, they explored the land from the desert of Sin, all the way to Rehob, as one enters into Hamath.
22 And they went up by the South, and came unto Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
And they ascended by the south side. And they arrived at Hebron, where there were Ahiman and Shishai and Talmai, the sons of Anak. For Hebron was founded seven years before Tanis, the city of Egypt.
23 And they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it upon a staff between two; [they brought] also of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
And continuing on as far as the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, they cut off a vine with its grapes, which two men carried on a board. Likewise, they took from the pomegranates and 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 thence.
which was called Nehel Eshcol, that is, the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, because the sons of Israel had carried a cluster of grapes from there.
25 And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days.
And those exploring the land returned after forty days, having circulated through the entire region.
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 to Moses and Aaron, and to the entire assembly of the sons of Israel in the desert of Paran, which is in Kadesh. And speaking to them, and to the entire multitude, they showed them the fruits 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 explained, saying: “We went into the land, to which you sent us, which, it is true, flows with milk and honey, as one can know by these fruits.
28 Howbeit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fenced, [and] very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
But it has very strong occupants, and the cities are great and also walled. We saw the race of Anak there.
29 Amalek dwelleth in the land of the South: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side of Jordan.
Amalek lives in the south. The Hethite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite live in the mountains. And truly, the Canaanite stays near the sea and around the streams of 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.
During these events, Caleb, to restrain the murmuring of the people who rose up against Moses, said, “Let us ascend and possess the land, for we will be able to obtain 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.
Yet truly, the others, who had been with him, were saying, “By no means are we able to ascend to this people, because they are stronger than we are.”
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.
And before the sons of Israel they disparaged the land, which they had inspected, saying: “The land, which we viewed, devours its inhabitants. The people, upon whom we gazed, were of lofty stature.
33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
There, we saw some monsters among the sons of Anak, of the race of giants; by comparison with them, we seemed like locusts.”