Spies Sent into Canaan

13 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (A)“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” ³ So Moses sent them from ^(B)the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. ⁴ And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; ⁵ from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; ^6 (C)from the tribe of Judah, ^(D)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, ^(E)Hoshea the son of Nun; ⁹ from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; ¹⁰ from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; ¹¹ from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; ¹² from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; ¹³ from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; ¹⁴ from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; ¹⁵ from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. ¹⁶ These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called ^(F)Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷ Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into ^(G)the Negeb and go up into ^(H)the hill country, ¹⁸ and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, ¹⁹ and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, ²⁰ and whether the land is ^(I)rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. ^(J)Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land ^(K)from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, ^(L)near Lebo-hamath. ²² They went up into ^(M)the Negeb and came to ^(N)Hebron. ^(O)Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the ^(P)descendants of Anak, were there. (^(Q)Hebron was built seven years before ^(R)Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ And ^(S)they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of Eshcol,^[a] because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

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 ^(T)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 ^(U)flows with milk and honey, ^(V)and this is its fruit. ^28 (W)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 (X)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. ^(Y)And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

³⁰ But ^(Z)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 (AA)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 ^(AB)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 ^(AC)all the people that we saw in it are of great height. ³³ And there we saw the ^(AD)Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the ^(AE)Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves ^(AF)like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

My Refuge and My Fortress

How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

Instructions for the Church

5 ^(A)Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, ^(B)younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows ^(C)who are truly widows. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn ^(D)to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for ^(E)this is pleasing in the sight of God. ⁵ She ^(F)who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and ^(G)continues in supplications and prayers night and day, ⁶ but ^(H)she who is self-indulgent is ^(I)dead even while she lives. ^7 (J)Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for ^(K)members of his household, he has ^(L)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been ^(M)the wife of one husband,^{[a] 10} and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has ^(N)shown hospitality, ^(O)has washed the feet of the saints, has ^(P)cared for the afflicted, and has ^(Q)devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when ^(R)their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry ¹² and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. ¹³ Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also ^(S)gossips and ^(T)busybodies, saying what they should not. ¹⁴ So I would have ^(U)younger widows marry, bear children, ^(V)manage their households, and ^(W)give the adversary no occasion for slander. ^15 (X)For some have already strayed after Satan. ¹⁶ If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those ^(Y)who are truly widows.

¹⁷ Let the elders ^(Z)who rule well be considered worthy of ^(AA)double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, ^(AB)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, ^(AC)“The laborer deserves his wages.” ¹⁹ Do not admit a charge against an elder except ^(AD)on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ As for those who persist in sin, ^(AE)rebuke them in the presence of all, ^(AF)so that the rest may stand in fear. ²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels ^(AG)I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, ^(AH)doing nothing from partiality. ^22 (AI)Do not be hasty in the ^(AJ)laying on of hands, nor ^(AK)take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. ²³ No longer drink only water, but ^(AL)use a little wine ^(AM)for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. ²⁴ The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. ²⁵ So also good works are conspicuous, and ^(AN)even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

6 ^(A)Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants^[a] regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, ^(B)so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. ² Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are ^(C)brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

False Teachers and True Contentment

^(D)Teach and urge these things. ³ If anyone ^(E)teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with ^(F)the sound^[b] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching ^(G)that accords with godliness, ^4 (H)he is puffed up with conceit and ^(I)understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for ^(J)controversy and for ^(K)quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, ⁵ and constant friction among people ^(L)who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, ^(M)imagining that godliness is a means of gain. ⁶ But ^(N)godliness ^(O)with contentment is great gain, ⁷ for ^(P)we brought nothing into the world, and^[c] we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸ But ^(Q)if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹ But ^(R)those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ^(S)into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ^(T)plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of ^(U)all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

¹¹ But as for you, ^(V)O man of God, ^(W)flee these things. ^(X)Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ^12 (Y)Fight the good fight of the faith. ^(Z)Take hold of the eternal life ^(AA)to which you were called and about which you made ^(AB)the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ^13 (AC)I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, ^(AD)who in his testimony before^[d] Pontius Pilate made ^(AE)the good confession, ¹⁴ to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until ^(AF)the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which he will display ^(AG)at the proper time—he who is ^(AH)the blessed and only Sovereign, ^(AI)the King of kings and Lord of lords, ^16 (AJ)who alone has immortality, ^(AK)who dwells in ^(AL)unapproachable light, ^(AM)whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷ As for the rich in ^(AN)this present age, charge them ^(AO)not to be haughty, nor ^(AP)to set their hopes on ^(AQ)the uncertainty of riches, but on God, ^(AR)who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ They are to do good, ^(AS)to be rich in good works, to be generous and ^(AT)ready to share, ¹⁹ thus ^(AU)storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may ^(AV)take hold of ^(AW)that which is truly life.

²⁰ O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. ^(AX)Avoid the ^(AY)irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” ²¹ for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

^(AZ)Grace be with you.^[e]