⁶ And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of the spies, tore their clothes in sorrow ⁷ and said to the people, “The land we explored is an excellent land. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, he will take us there and give us that rich and fertile land. ^9 (A)Do not rebel against the Lord and don't be afraid of the people who live there. We will conquer them easily. The Lord is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them; so don't be afraid.” ¹⁰ The whole community was threatening to stone them to death, but suddenly the people saw the dazzling light of the Lord's presence appear over the Tent.

²¹ Don't be jealous of what sinners achieve; just stick to your own work, and trust the Lord. It is very easy for the Lord to make a poor person suddenly rich.

Hebron Is Given to Caleb

^6 (A)One day some people from the tribe of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. One of them, Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, said to him, “You know what the Lord said in Kadesh Barnea about you and me to Moses, the man of God. ^7 (B)I was forty years old when the Lord's servant Moses sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out this land. I brought an honest report back to him. ⁸ The men who went with me, however, made our people afraid. But I faithfully obeyed the Lord my God. ^9 (C)Because I did, Moses promised me that my children and I would certainly receive as our possession the land which I walked over. ¹⁰ But now, look. It has been forty-five years since the Lord said that to Moses. That was when Israel was going through the desert, and the Lord, as he promised, has kept me alive ever since. Look at me! I am eighty-five years old ¹¹ and am just as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out. I am still strong enough for war or for anything else.