Exploring Canaan

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Send some men to explore^(A) the land of Canaan,^(B) which I am giving to the Israelites.^(C) From each ancestral tribe^(D) send one of its leaders.”

³ So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.^{(E) 4} These are their names:

¹⁶ These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore^(H) the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun^(I) the name Joshua.)^(J)

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,^(K) he said, “Go up through the Negev^(L) and on into the hill country.^{(M) 18} See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? ²⁰ How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.^(N)” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)^(O)

²¹ So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin^(P) as far as Rehob,^(Q) toward Lebo Hamath.^{(R) 22} They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,^(S) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,^(T) the descendants of Anak,^(U) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)^{(V) 23} When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,^[a](W) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates^(X) and figs.^{(Y) 24} That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵ At the end of forty days^(Z) they returned from exploring the land.^(AA)

Report on the Exploration

²⁶ They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh^(AB) in the Desert of Paran.^(AC) There they reported to them^(AD) and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.^{(AE) 27} They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!^(AF) Here is its fruit.^{(AG) 28} But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.^(AH) We even saw descendants of Anak^(AI) there.^{(AJ) 29} The Amalekites^(AK) live in the Negev; the Hittites,^(AL) Jebusites^(AM) and Amorites^(AN) live in the hill country;^(AO) and the Canaanites^(AP) live near the sea and along the Jordan.^(AQ)”

³⁰ Then Caleb^(AR) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”^{(AS) 32} And they spread among the Israelites a bad report^(AT) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours^(AU) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.^{(AV) 33} We saw the Nephilim^(AW) there (the descendants of Anak^(AX) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers^(AY) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

¹⁹ “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient^(A) to the vision from heaven. ²⁰ First to those in Damascus,^(B) then to those in Jerusalem^(C) and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles,^(D) I preached that they should repent^(E) and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.^{(F) 21} That is why some Jews seized me^(G) in the temple courts and tried to kill me.^{(H) 22} But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen^(I)— ²³ that the Messiah would suffer^(J) and, as the first to rise from the dead,^(K) would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”^(L)

²⁴ At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind,^(M) Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning^(N) is driving you insane.”

²⁵ “I am not insane, most excellent^(O) Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶ The king is familiar with these things,^(P) and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”^(Q)

²⁹ Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”^(R)

³⁰ The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice^(S) and those sitting with them. ³¹ After they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”^(T)

³² Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free^(U) if he had not appealed to Caesar.”^(V)