Numbers 13

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

1The LORD spoke to Moses. He said:

2Send 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.

2"Send some men to go look at the land of Canaan. I am giving that land to the people of Israel. Send one man from each tribe, each big family group. Each man must be a leader."

3And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.

3So Moses did what the LORD said. He sent the men out from the desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of Israel.

4And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.

4Here are their names. From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur.

5Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.

5From the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori.

6Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

6From the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh.

7Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.

7From the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph.

8Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.

8From the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea son of Nun.

9Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.

9From the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu.

10Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.

10From the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi.

11Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.

11From the tribe of Manasseh, which came from Joseph, Gaddi son of Susi.

12Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.

12From the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli.

13Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.

13From the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael.

14Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.

14From the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi.

15Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

15From the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.

16These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.

16Those are the names of the men Moses sent to look at the land in secret. Moses gave Oshea son of Nun a new name. He called him Joshua.

17And 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:

17Moses sent them to look at the land of Canaan. He told them, "Go through the dry land in the south. Then go up into the hills.

18And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;

18Look at the land and see what it is like. See if the people who live there are strong or weak. See if there are many of them or only a few.

19And 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;

19Find out if the land they live in is good or bad. Find out if they live in open camps or in cities with strong walls.

20And 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.

20See if the soil is rich or poor. See if there are trees growing there. Be brave, and bring back some fruit from the land." It was the time of year when the first grapes get ripe.

Note"Whether it be fat or lean" is an old way of asking if the soil was rich or poor for growing food.

21So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

21So the men went up and looked at the land. They went from the desert of Zin all the way to Rehob, near the road to Hamath.

22And 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.)

22They went up through the dry land in the south and came to Hebron. Three men named Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai lived there. They came from the family of Anak. Hebron had been built seven years before the town of Zoan in Egypt.

23And 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.

23They came to a valley called Eshcol. There they cut off one branch with a big bunch of grapes on it. It took two men to carry it on a pole. They also took some pomegranates and figs.

24The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.

24The place was named Eshcol, which means "bunch." It got that name because of the bunch of grapes the men cut there.

25And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

25After forty days the men came back from looking at the land.

26And 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.

26They came to Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel. This was at Kadesh, in the desert of Paran. The men told everyone what they had seen. They showed them the fruit from the land.

27And 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.

27They said to Moses, "We went to the land you sent us to see. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Look at the fruit we brought!

Note"Flowing with milk and honey" was a way of saying the land was very good, with plenty of food.

28Nevertheless 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.

28But the people who live there are strong. Their cities are very big and have high walls around them. We even saw the family of Anak there.

29The 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.

29The Amalekites live in the dry land in the south. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hills. The Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan River."

30And 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.

30Then Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen. He said to them in front of Moses, "Let's go up right now and take the land. We can do it!"

31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

31But the other men who had gone with him said, "We cannot fight those people. They are stronger than we are."

32And 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.

32So they gave the people of Israel a bad report about the land they had seen. They said, "That land eats up the people who live in it. Every person we saw there was very big.

Note"An evil report" here means a bad or scary report. It does not mean the men said something wicked.

33And 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.

33"We saw giants there, the sons of Anak, who came from the giants. Next to them we felt as small as grasshoppers. And that is how we looked to them too."