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.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

^45 (A)Many of the Jews therefore, ^(B)who had come with Mary and ^(C)had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶ but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(D)gathered ^(E)the council and said, ^(F)“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and ^(G)the Romans will come and take away both our ^(H)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(I)Caiaphas, ^(J)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that ^(K)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ He did not say this of his own accord, but ^(L)being high priest that year ^(M)he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and ^(N)not for the nation only, but also ^(O)to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(P)made plans to put him to death.

⁵⁴ Jesus therefore ^(Q)no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(R)the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and ^(S)many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover ^(T)to purify themselves. ^56 (U)They were looking for^[a] Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people ^(A)wept that night. ² And all the people of Israel ^(B)grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or ^(C)would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? ^(D)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, ^(E)“Let us choose a leader and ^(F)go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Then ^(G)Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. ^6 (H)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, ^(I)“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If ^(J)the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(K)a land that flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only ^(L)do not rebel against the Lord. And ^(M)do not fear the people of the land, for ^(N)they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (O)Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But ^(P)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 ^(Q)despise me? And how long will they not ^(R)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 ^(S)will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹³ But ^(T)Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, ¹⁴ and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. ^(U)They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and ^(V)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 kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘It is because the Lord ^(W)was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ^18 (X)‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, ^(Y)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Please ^(Z)pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ^(AA)as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

God Promises Judgment

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, ^(AB)according to your word. ²¹ But truly, as I live, and as all ^(AC)the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, ^22 (AD)none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ^(AE)ten times and have not obeyed my voice, ^23 (AF)shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. ²⁴ But my servant ^(AG)Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has ^(AH)followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. ^25 (AI)Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, ^(AJ)turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God according to ^(C)the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, ^(D)my beloved child:

^(E)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

^3 (F)I thank God ^(G)whom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^(H)with a clear conscience, as I remember you ^(I)constantly in my prayers night and day. ^4 (J)As I remember your tears, ^(K)I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of ^(L)your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(M)your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you ^(N)to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God gave us ^(O)a spirit not of fear but ^(P)of power and love and self-control.

⁸ Therefore ^(Q)do not be ashamed of ^(R)the testimony about our Lord, nor of ^(S)me his prisoner, but ^(T)share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ^9 (U)who saved us and ^(V)called us to^[a] a holy calling, ^(W)not because of our works but because of ^(X)his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^(Y)before the ages began,^{[b] 10} and which now has ^(Z)been manifested through ^(AA)the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^(AB)who abolished death and ^(AC)brought life and ^(AD)immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (AE)for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ^12 (AF)which is why I suffer as I do. But ^(AG)I am not ashamed, for ^(AH)I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until ^(AI)that day ^(AJ)what has been entrusted to me.^{[c] 13 (AK)}Follow ^(AL)the pattern of ^(AM)the sound^[d] words ^(AN)that you have heard from me, in ^(AO)the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ By the Holy Spirit ^(AP)who dwells within us, guard ^(AQ)the good deposit entrusted to you.

¹⁵ You are aware that ^(AR)all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to ^(AS)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often ^(AT)refreshed me and was not ashamed of ^(AU)my chains, ¹⁷ but when he arrived in Rome ^(AV)he searched for me earnestly and found me— ¹⁸ may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on ^(AW)that day!—and you well know all the service he ^(AX)rendered at Ephesus.