Report of the Spies

²⁵ At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. ²⁶ And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at ^(A)Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It ^(B)flows with milk and honey, ^(C)and this is its fruit. ^28 (D)However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. ^29 (E)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. ^(F)And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

³⁰ But ^(G)Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” ^31 (H)Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” ³² So ^(I)they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and ^(J)all the people that we saw in it are of great height. ³³ And there we saw the ^(K)Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the ^(L)Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves ^(M)like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people ^(N)wept that night. ² And all the people of Israel ^(O)grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or ^(P)would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? ^(Q)Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to one another, ^(R)“Let us choose a leader and ^(S)go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Then ^(T)Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. ^6 (U)And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ^(V)“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If ^(W)the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(X)a land that flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only ^(Y)do not rebel against the Lord. And ^(Z)do not fear the people of the land, for ^(AA)they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (AB)Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But ^(AC)the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people ^(AD)despise me? And how long will they not ^(AE)believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I ^(AF)will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

13 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. ² And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers ^(A)who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. ³ Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, ^(B)for we did not seek it^[a] in the days of Saul.” ⁴ All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

Uzzah and the Ark

^5 (C)So David assembled all Israel ^(D)from the ^(E)Nile^[b] of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God ^(F)from Kiriath-jearim. ^6 (G)And David and all Israel went up to ^(H)Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord who ^(I)sits enthroned above the cherubim. ⁷ And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of ^(J)Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio^[c] were driving the cart. ⁸ And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and ^(K)lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

⁹ And when they came to the threshing floor of ^(L)Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down ^(M)because he put out his hand to the ark, and ^(N)he died there before God. ¹¹ And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza^[d] to this day. ¹² And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³ So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house ^(O)of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. ^(P)And the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

¹⁴ He measured also ^(A)the vestibule, sixty cubits. And around the vestibule of the gateway was the court.^{[a] 15} From the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ And the gateway had ^(B)windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their ^(C)jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were ^(D)palm trees.

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into ^(E)the outer court. And behold, there were ^(F)chambers and a ^(G)pavement, all around the court. ^(H)Thirty chambers faced the pavement. ¹⁸ And the pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the distance from the inner front of the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court,^[b] a hundred cubits on the east side and on the north side.^[c]

The North Gate

²⁰ As for ^(I)the gate that faced toward the north, belonging to ^(J)the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth. ²¹ Its ^(K)side rooms, three on either side, and its jambs and its vestibule were of the same size as those of ^(L)the first gate. Its length was ^(M)fifty cubits, and its breadth ^(N)twenty-five cubits. ²² And ^(O)its windows, its vestibule, and ^(P)its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. And by seven steps ^(Q)people would go up to it, and find its vestibule before them. ²³ And opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to ^(R)the inner court. And ^(S)he measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits.

The South Gate

²⁴ And he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south. And ^(T)he measured its jambs and its vestibule; they had the same size as the others. ²⁵ Both it and its vestibule ^(U)had windows all around, like the windows of the others. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ And there were seven steps leading up to it, and its vestibule was before them, and it had ^(V)palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. ²⁷ And there was a gate on the south of ^(W)the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

The Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me to ^(X)the inner court through the south gate, and ^(Y)he measured the south gate. It was of the same size as the others.

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

^20 (A)So they ^(B)watched him and sent spies, who ^(C)pretended to be sincere, that they might ^(D)catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of ^(E)the governor. ²¹ So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and ^(F)show no partiality,^[a] but truly teach ^(G)the way of God. ²² Is it lawful for us to give ^(H)tribute to ^(I)Caesar, or not?” ²³ But he perceived their ^(J)craftiness, and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me ^(K)a denarius.^[b] Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar's.” ²⁵ He said to them, “Then ^(L)render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²⁶ And they were not able in the presence of the people ^(M)to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

3 Finally, my brothers,^{[a] (A)}rejoice in the Lord. ^(B)To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

² Look out for ^(C)the dogs, look out for ^(D)the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. ³ For ^(E)we are the circumcision, ^(F)who worship ^(G)by the Spirit of God^[b] and ^(H)glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— ^4 (I)though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ^5 (J)circumcised on the eighth day, ^(K)of the people of Israel, ^(L)of the tribe of Benjamin, ^(M)a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, ^(N)a Pharisee; ^6 (O)as to zeal, ^(P)a persecutor of the church; ^(Q)as to righteousness under the law,^[c] blameless. ⁷ But ^(R)whatever gain I had, ^(S)I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of ^(T)the surpassing worth of ^(U)knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ^(V)have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having ^(W)a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but ^(X)that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ^10 (Y)that I may know him and ^(Z)the power of his resurrection, and ^(AA)may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may ^(AB)attain the resurrection from the dead.