Spies View the Land

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. From each of their fathers’ tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent spies from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the Israelites. ⁴ 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 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea [that is, Joshua] 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, of 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 are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua (the Lord is salvation).

¹⁷ Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the Negev (the South country); 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 and whether the land in which they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are [open] camps or fortifications, ²⁰ and what the land is, whether it is fat (productive) or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. Make an effort to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob [a town in Lebanon], at Lebo-hamath [in the far north]. ²² When they had gone up into the Negev (the South country), they came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai the descendants of Anak were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes), and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two of them, with some of pomegranates and the figs. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes) because of the cluster of grapes which the sons of Israel cut down there.

The Spies’ Reports

²⁵ When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, ²⁶ they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, and brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the land’s fruit. ²⁷ They reported to Moses and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does ^[a]flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are ^[b]fortified (walled) and very large; moreover, we saw there the descendants of Anak [people of great stature and courage]. ²⁹ [The people descended from] Amalek live in the land of the Negev (South country); the Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the [Dead] Sea and along the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession of it; for we will certainly conquer it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are too strong for us.” ³² So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we went, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. ³³ There we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation [of Israel] raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night. ² All the Israelites murmured [in discontent] against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land [of Canaan], to fall by the sword? Our wives and ^[c]children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”^{(A) 4} So they said one to another, “Let us appoint a [new] leader and return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. ⁶ Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes [as a sign of grief], ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land through which we passed as spies is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which ^[d]flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” ¹⁰ But all the congregation said to stone Joshua and Caleb with stones. But the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) before all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me disrespectfully and reject Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the [miraculous] signs which I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence (plague) and dispossess them, and will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³ But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up these people from among them, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people [of Israel], that You, Lord, are seen face to face, while Your cloud stands over them; and that You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations (Gentiles) that have heard of Your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring these people into the land which He promised to give them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ But now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting (avenging) the wickedness and guilt of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].’^{(B) 19} Please pardon the wickedness and guilt of these people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You have forgiven these people, from Egypt even until now.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

²⁰ So the Lord said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; ²¹ but indeed as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.^{(C) 22} Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My [miraculous] signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ²³ will by no means see the land which I swore to [give to] their fathers; nor will any who treated me disrespectfully and rejected Me see it.^{(D) 24} But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land into which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. ²⁵ Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valley; tomorrow turn and set out for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.”

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who murmur [in discontent] against Me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites, which they are making against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just what you have spoken in My hearing I will most certainly do to you; ²⁹ your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, even all who were numbered of you, your entire number from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me.^{(E) 30} Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, not one of you shall enter the land in which I swore [an oath] to settle you. ³¹ But your children whom you said would become plunder, I will bring in, and they will know the land which you have despised and rejected. ³² But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Your sons shall be wanderers and shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness (spiritual infidelity), until your corpses are consumed in the wilderness. ³⁴ According to the number of days in which you spied out the land [of Canaan], forty days, for each day, you shall bear and suffer a year for your sins and guilt, for forty years, and you shall know My displeasure [the revoking of My promise and My estrangement because of your sin]. ³⁵ I, the Lord, have spoken. I will most certainly do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed [by war, disease, and plagues], and here they shall die.’”^(F)

³⁶ As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and made all the congregation murmur and complain against him by bringing back a bad report concerning the land, ³⁷ even those [ten] men who brought back the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord.^{(G) 38} But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Repulsed

³⁹ Moses spoke the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ They got up early in the morning and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Look, here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord, when it will not succeed? ⁴² Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, because you have turned away from following the Lord; therefore the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But [in their arrogance] they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country; however, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and struck the Israelites and scattered them as far as Hormah.

Laws for Canaan

15 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When you come into the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, ³ then make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, from the herd or from the flock. ⁴ The one who presents his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a ^[e]hin of oil, ⁵ and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, a fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. ⁶ Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. ⁷ And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁸ When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, in fulfilling a special vow or peace offering to the Lord, ⁹ then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; ¹⁰ and you shall bring as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

¹¹ ‘Thus shall it be done for each bull, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. ¹² According to the number that you prepare, so shall you do to everyone according to their number. ¹³ All who are native-born shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

Law of the Stranger

¹⁴ If a stranger lives as a resident alien with you, or whoever may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall he do. ¹⁵ As for the assembly, there shall be one [and the same] statute for you [of the congregation] and for the stranger who is a resident alien with you, a permanent statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. ¹⁶ There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the stranger who lives with you as a resident alien.’”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When you enter the land to which I am bringing you, ¹⁹ then, when you eat the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering (heave offering) to the Lord. ²⁰ You shall lift up a cake made of the first of your [ground grain which has been made into] dough as an offering [to the Lord]; as an offering from the threshing floor, so shall you lift it up. ²¹ From the first of your dough (ground grain) you shall give to the Lord an offering throughout your generations.

²² ‘But when you unintentionally fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the Lord has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that the Lord has commanded you ^[f]through Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandments and onward throughout your generations, ²⁴ then it shall be, if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat as a sin offering. ²⁵ Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven, for it was an error and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their error. ²⁶ So all the congregation of the Israelites will be forgiven as well as the stranger who lives among them as a resident alien, because all the people were involved in the error.

²⁷ ‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a female goat one year old as a sin offering. ²⁸ The priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who commits an error when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him so that he may be forgiven. ²⁹ You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, whether he is native-born among the Israelites or a stranger who is living among them as a resident alien. ³⁰ But the person who does [anything wrong] ^[g]willfully and defiantly, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one is blaspheming the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. ³¹ Because he has despised and rejected the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; [the responsibility for] his wickedness and guilt will be upon him.’”

Sabbath-breaking Punished

³² Now while the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; ³⁴ and they put him in custody, because it had not been explained [by God] what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall certainly be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them to make for themselves tassels on the hems of their garments throughout their generations, and put a cord of blue on the tassel of each hem. ³⁹ It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, so that you do not follow after [the desires of] your own heart and eyes, [desires] after which you used to follow and play the prostitute, ⁴⁰ so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy (set apart) to your God. ⁴¹ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Korah’s Rebellion

16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben, took action, ² and they rose up [in rebellion] before Moses, together with some of the Israelites, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation chosen in the assembly, men of distinction. ³ They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ And when Moses heard this, he fell face downward; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to Him, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; the one whom He will choose He will bring near to Himself.^{(H) 6} Do this: Take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, ⁷ then put fire in them and place incense on them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi.”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, ⁹ does it seem but a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near [to Him], Korah and all your brothers, sons of Levi with you? Would you seek the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he that you murmur against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said [defiantly], “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land [of plenty] ^[h]flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Pay no attention to their offering! I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them.” ¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company are to appear before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you take his censer and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” ¹⁸ So they each took his own censer and put fire on it and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Then Korah assembled all the congregation against Moses and Aaron at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). And the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, so that I may consume them immediately.” ²² But they fell on their faces [before the Lord], and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh! When one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Say to the congregation, ‘Get away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ And he said to the congregation, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they got back from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents with their wives and their sons and their little children. ²⁸ Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; for I do not act of my own accord. ²⁹ If these men die the common death of all mankind or if what happens to everyone happens to them, then [you will know for sure that] the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates an entirely new thing, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, along with all that belongs to them, and they descend alive into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), then you will understand that these men have spurned and rejected the Lord!”

³¹ As soon as Moses finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split open; ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all the men who supported Korah, with all their possessions.^{(I) 33} So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴ All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us also.” ³⁵ Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

^36 [i]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, that he is to pick up the censers from the midst of the blaze for they are holy; and you scatter the burning coals abroad. ³⁸ As for the censers of these people who have sinned at the cost of their lives, have the censers made into hammered sheets as a plating for the altar [of burnt offering], for they were presented before the Lord and they are sacred. They shall be a [warning] sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the Levites who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out [into broad sheets] as a plating for the [bronze] altar [of burnt offering], ⁴⁰ as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman—that is, one who is not of the descendants of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and as his company—just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

⁴¹ But on the next day the entire congregation of the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have caused the death of the people of the Lord.” ⁴² When the congregation was assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned and looked at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), ⁴⁴ and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ⁴⁵ “Get away from among this congregation, so that I may consume them immediately.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces [in silence before the Lord]. ⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord; the plague has begun!” ⁴⁷ So Aaron took the burning censer as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had [already] begun among the people; and he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to an end. ⁴⁹ But those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died because of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), for the plague had been brought to an end.