1 A nd the Lord said to Moses,

Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying,

2 S end men to explore and scout out the land of Canaan, which I give to the Israelites. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader or head among them.

“ Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

3 S o Moses by the command of the Lord sent scouts from the Wilderness of Paran, all of them men who were heads of the Israelites.

So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel.

4 T hese were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;

These then were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;

5 O f the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;

6 O f the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;

7 O f the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;

8 O f the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;

from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun;

9 O f the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;

10 O f the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;

11 O f the tribe of Joseph, that is, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi son of Susi;

from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;

12 O f the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;

13 O f the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;

14 O f the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;

15 O f the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.

from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

16 T hese are the names of the men whom Moses sent to explore and scout out the land. And Moses called Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.

These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

17 M oses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, and said to them, Get up this way by the South (the Negeb) and go up into the hill country,

When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country.

18 A nd see what the land is and whether the people who dwell there are strong or weak, few or many,

See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many.

19 A nd whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they dwell in are camps or strongholds,

How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications?

20 A nd what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. And be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

21 S o they went up and scouted through the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.

So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath.

22 A nd then went up into the South (the Negeb) and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai the sons of Anak were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 A nd they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two; they brought also some pomegranates and figs.

Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs.

24 T hat place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster which the Israelites cut down there.

That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there. The Spies’ Reports

25 A nd they returned from scouting out the land after forty days.

When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days,

26 T hey came to Moses and Aaron and to all the Israelite congregation in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, and brought them word, and showed them the land’s fruit.

they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

27 T hey told Moses, We came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit.

Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

28 B ut the people who dwell there are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, there we saw the sons of Anak.

Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

29 A malek dwells in the land of the South (the Negeb); the Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanite dwells by the sea and along by the side of the Jordan.

Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

30 C aleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; we are well able to conquer it.

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”

31 B ut his fellow scouts said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.

But the men who had gone up with him said, “ We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”

32 S o they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.

So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.

33 T here we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”