26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at (A)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 (B)flows with milk and honey, (C)and this is its fruit. 28 (D)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 (E)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. (F)And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

30 But (G)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 (H)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 (I)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 (J)all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the (K)Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the (L)Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves (M)like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Read full chapter

26 came in to Moses and Aaron, and delivered their report to the entire congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back their report to the entire congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 “We arrived at the place where you’ve sent us,” they reported, “and it certainly does flow with milk and honey. Furthermore, this is its fruit, 28 except that the people who have settled in the land are strong, and their cities are greatly fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak. 29 Amalek lives throughout the Negev,[a] while the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live by the sea and on the bank of the Jordan.”

30 Caleb silenced the people on Moses’ behalf and responded, “Let’s go up and take control, because we can definitely conquer it.”

31 “We can’t attack those people,” the men who were with him said, “because they’re too strong compared to us.”

32 So they put out this false report to the Israelis about the land that they had explored: “The land that we’ve explored is one[b] that devours its inhabitants. All the people whom we observed were giants.[c] 33 We also saw the Nephilim,[d] the descendants of Anak. Compared to the Nephilim, as we see things, we’re like grasshoppers, and that’s their opinion of us!”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 13:29 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
  2. Numbers 13:32 Lit. is a land
  3. Numbers 13:32 Lit. observed are men of measurements
  4. Numbers 13:33 Cf. Gen 6:4