Spies View the Land

13 Then ^(A)the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(B)Send out men for yourself to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the ^[a]command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. ⁴ These then 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 from the tribe of Judah, ^(C)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, ^(D)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, 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 and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. ¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called ^(E)Hoshea the son of Nun, ^[b]Joshua.

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into ^(F)the ^[c]Negev; then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. ¹⁹ And how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are the people in open camps or in fortifications? ²⁰ And ^(G)how is the land, is it ^[d]productive or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? And ^(H)show yourselves courageous and get 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 from ^(I)the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, ^[e](J)at Lebo-hamath. ²² When they had gone up into ^(K)the Negev, ^[f]they came to Hebron where ^(L)Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the ^[g]descendants of ^(M)Anak were. (Hebron was built seven years before ^(N)Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to the ^[h]Valley of ^[i](O)Eshcol, and from there they cut off 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. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of ^[j]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut off from there.

The Spies’ Reports

²⁵ When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, ²⁶ they went on and came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ^[k]in the wilderness of Paran at ^(P)Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ So they reported to him and said, “We came into the land where you sent us, and ^(Q)it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and ^(R)this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless, ^(S)the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And indeed, we saw ^(T)the ^[l]descendants of Anak there! ²⁹ Amalek is living in the land of ^(U)the Negev, the Hittites, the Jebusites, and ^(V)the Amorites are living in the hill country, and ^(W)the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people ^[m]before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will certainly prevail over it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “^(X)We are not able to go up against the people, because they are too strong for us.” ³² So they brought ^(Y)a bad report of the land which they had spied out to the sons of Israel, saying, “The land through which we have gone to spy out is ^(Z)a land that devours its inhabitants; and ^(AA)all the people whom we saw in it are people of great stature. ³³ We also saw the ^[n](AB)Nephilim there (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and ^(AC)we were like ^[o]grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

^45 (A)Therefore many of the Jews ^(B)who came to Mary, and ^(C)saw what He had done, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the ^(D)Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Conspiracy to Kill Jesus

⁴⁷ Therefore ^(E)the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(F)convened a ^(G)council meeting, and they were saying, “What are we ^[a]doing in regard to the fact that this man is performing many ^[b](H)signs? ⁴⁸ If we let Him go on like this, all the people will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take over both our ^[c](I)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(J)Caiaphas, ^(K)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor are you taking into account that ^(L)it is in your best interest that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish instead.” ⁵¹ Now he did not say this ^[d]on his own, but ^(M)as he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation; ⁵² and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also ^(N)gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(O)planned together to kill Him.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus ^(P)no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called ^(Q)Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(R)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the country prior to the Passover, ^(S)in order to ^[e]purify themselves. ⁵⁶ So they ^(T)were looking for Jesus, and saying to one another as they stood in the temple area, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now ^(U)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might arrest Him.

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation ^[a]raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept ^[b]that night. ² And all the sons of Israel ^(A)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “^(B)If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness! ³ So why is the Lord bringing us into this land ^(C)to fall by the sword? ^(D)Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “^(E)Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”

^5 (F)Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “^(G)The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ^8 (H)If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—^(I)a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only ^(J)do not rebel against the Lord; and do not ^(K)fear the people of the land, for they will be our ^[c]prey. Their ^[d]protection is gone from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (L)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then ^(M)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

^11 (N)And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people be disrespectful to Me? And how long will ^(O)they not ^[e]believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? ¹² I will strike them with ^[f](P)plague and dispossess them, and I ^(Q)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

^13 (R)But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people up from their midst, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are in the midst of this people, because ^(S)You, Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You put this people to death ^[g]all at once, ^(T)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will ^[h]say, ¹⁶ ‘Since the Lord ^(U)could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ So now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying, ¹⁸ ‘^(V)The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but ^(W)He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, ^(X)inflicting the ^[i]punishment of the fathers on the children ^[j]to the third and the fourth generations.’ ¹⁹ Please ^(Y)forgive the guilt of this people in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

²⁰ So the Lord said, “^(Z)I have forgiven them in accordance with your word; ²¹ however, ^(AA)as I live, ^[k](AB)all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. ²² Certainly ^(AC)all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet ^(AD)have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ^23 (AE)shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who were disrespectful to Me see it. ²⁴ But as for My servant Caleb, ^(AF)because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, ^(AG)I will bring him into the land which he ^[l]entered, and his ^[m]descendants shall take possession of it. ^25 (AH)Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the ^[n]Red Sea.”

Timothy Charged to Guard His Trust

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^[a](C)by the will of God, according to the promise of ^(D)life in Christ Jesus,

² To ^(E)Timothy, my beloved ^[b](F)son: ^(G)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

^3 (H)I thank God, whom I ^(I)serve with a ^(J)clear conscience ^[c]the way my forefathers did, ^(K)as I constantly remember you in my ^[d]prayers night and day, ^4 (L)longing to see you, ^(M)even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. ^5 [e]For I am mindful of the ^(N)sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and ^(O)your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh ^(P)the gift of God which is in you through ^(Q)the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a ^(R)spirit of ^[f]timidity, but of power and love and ^[g]discipline.

⁸ Therefore ^(S)do not be ashamed of the ^(T)testimony of our Lord or of me ^(U)His prisoner, but join with me in ^(V)suffering for the ^(W)gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who ^(X)saved us and ^(Y)called us with a holy ^(Z)calling, ^(AA)not according to our works, but according to His own ^(AB)purpose and grace, which was granted to us in ^(AC)Christ Jesus from ^(AD)all eternity, ¹⁰ but has ^(AE)now been revealed by the ^(AF)appearing of our Savior ^(AG)Christ Jesus, who ^(AH)abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (AI)for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; but ^(AJ)I am not ashamed, for I know ^(AK)whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to ^(AL)protect what I have entrusted to Him ^[h]until ^(AM)that day. ^13 (AN)Hold on to the ^(AO)example of ^(AP)sound words ^(AQ)which you have heard from me, in the ^(AR)faith and love which are in ^(AS)Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Protect, through the Holy Spirit who ^(AT)dwells in us, the ^[i](AU)treasure which has been entrusted to you.

¹⁵ You are aware of the fact that all who are in ^[j](AV)Asia ^(AW)turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ The Lord grant mercy to ^(AX)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and ^(AY)was not ashamed of my ^[k](AZ)chains; ¹⁷ but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸ the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on ^(BA)that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at ^(BB)Ephesus.