⁷ Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them?^(A)

¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die^(A) in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”^(B)

²⁸ Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller^(A) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites^(B) there.’”

⁹ After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol^(A) and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them.

The Bronze Snake

⁴ They traveled from Mount Hor^(A) along the route to the Red Sea,^[a](B) to go around Edom.^(C) But the people grew impatient on the way;^(D)

²⁷ They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!^(A) Here is its fruit.^{(B) 28} But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.^(C) We even saw descendants of Anak^(D) there.^{(E) 29} The Amalekites^(F) live in the Negev; the Hittites,^(G) Jebusites^(H) and Amorites^(I) live in the hill country;^(J) and the Canaanites^(K) live near the sea and along the Jordan.^(L)”

³⁰ Then Caleb^(M) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”^{(N) 32} And they spread among the Israelites a bad report^(O) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours^(P) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.^{(Q) 33} We saw the Nephilim^(R) there (the descendants of Anak^(S) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers^(T) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

The People Rebel

14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.^{(U) 2} All the Israelites grumbled^(V) against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!^(W) Or in this wilderness!^{(X) 3} Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?^(Y) Our wives and children^(Z) will be taken as plunder.^(AA) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?^(AB)” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.^(AC)”