1 T hen the Lord spoke to Moses saying,

The Lord said to Moses,

2 “ 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.”

“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan which I am going to give to the people of Israel. Send a man from each of their fathers’ families, every one a leader among them.”

3 S o 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.

So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran, as the Lord had told him. All of the men were heads of the people of Israel.

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

These were their names. There was Shammua the son of Zaccur from the family of Reuben,

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

Shaphat the son of Hori from the family of Simeon,

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

Caleb the son of Jephunneh from the family of Judah,

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

and Igal the son of Joseph from the family of Issachar.

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

There was Hoshea the son of Nun from the family of Ephraim,

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

Palti the son of Raphu from the family of Benjamin,

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

Gaddiel the son of Sodi from the family of Zebulun,

11 f rom the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;

and Gaddi the son of Susi from the family of Joseph, from the family of Manasseh.

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

There was Ammiel the son of Gemalli from the family of Dan,

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

Sethur the son of Michael from the family of Asher,

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

Nahbi the son of Vophsi from the family of Naphtali,

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

and Geuel the son of Machi from the family of Gad.

16 T hese are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the 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 W hen 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.

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

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

19 H ow 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?

Find out if the land they live in is good or bad. See if the cities they live in are open or if they have walls.

20 H ow 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.

Find out if the land is rich or poor, and if there are trees in it or not. Then try to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now this was the gathering time of the first grown grapes.

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

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

22 W hen 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.)

When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron. Anak’s sons Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 T hen 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.

Then they came to the valley of Eshcol. They cut down a branch from there with some grapes on it. And they carried it on a long piece of wood between two men, with some pomegranates and figs.

24 T hat place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there. The Spies’ Reports

That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of much fruit the men of Israel cut down from there.

25 W hen they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days,

They returned from looking over the land after forty days.

26 t hey 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.

And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the people of Israel in the desert of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought news to them and to all the people, and showed them the fruit of the land.

27 T hus 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.

They told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It does flow with milk and honey. This is its fruit.

28 N evertheless, 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.

But the people who live in the land are strong. The cities have walls and are very large. And we saw the children of Anak there.

29 A malek 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.”

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

30 T hen 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.”

Then Caleb told the people in front of Moses to be quiet. And he said, “Let us go up at once and take the land. For we are well able to take it in battle.”

31 B ut 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.”

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

32 S o 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.

So they brought the people of Israel bad news about the land they had spied out, saying, “The land we have gone to spy out is a land that destroys those who go there to live. All the people we saw in it are very large.

33 T here 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.”

We saw the Nephilim there. (The sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim.) We looked like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”