Numbers 13
Christian Standard Bible
Scouting Out Canaan
13 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan(A) I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.(B) 4 These were their names:
Shammua son of Zaccur from the tribe of Reuben;
5 Shaphat son of Hori from the tribe of Simeon;
6 Caleb(C) son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
7 Igal son of Joseph from the tribe of Issachar;
8 Hoshea son of Nun(D) from the tribe of Ephraim;
9 Palti son of Raphu from the tribe of Benjamin;
10 Gaddiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun;
11 Gaddi son of Susi from the tribe of Manasseh (from the tribe of Joseph);
12 Ammiel son of Gemalli from the tribe of Dan;
13 Sethur son of Michael from the tribe of Asher;
14 Nahbi son of Vophsi from the tribe of Naphtali;
15 Geuel son of Machi from the tribe of Gad.
16 These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.
17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good(E) or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?(F) 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive?(G) Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.(H)
21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin[a] as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath.[b] 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak,(I) were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan(J) in Egypt. 23 When they came to Eshcol(K) Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.(L) 24 That place was called Eshcol[c] Valley because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of forty days(M) they returned from scouting out the land.
Report about Canaan
26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.(N) 27 They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,(O) and here is some of its fruit. 28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.(P) We also saw the descendants of Anak(Q) there. 29 The Amalekites(R) are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb(S) quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim(T) there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim!(U) To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
Numbers 13
New Living Translation
Twelve Scouts Explore Canaan
13 The Lord now said to Moses, 2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” 3 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. 4 These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:
| Tribe | Leader |
|---|---|
| Reuben | Shammua son of Zaccur |
| 5 Simeon | Shaphat son of Hori |
| 6 Judah | Caleb son of Jephunneh |
| 7 Issachar | Igal son of Joseph |
| 8 Ephraim | Hoshea son of Nun |
| 9 Benjamin | Palti son of Raphu |
| 10 Zebulun | Gaddiel son of Sodi |
| 11 Manasseh son of Joseph | Gaddi son of Susi |
| 12 Dan | Ammiel son of Gemalli |
| 13 Asher | Sethur son of Michael |
| 14 Naphtali | Nahbi son of Vophsi |
| 15 Gad | Geuel son of Maki |
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
The Scouting Report
25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea[a] and along the Jordan Valley.”
30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants[b] there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
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