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Spies Enter the Land

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we left ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; 1:6] and went toward the mountain country of the Amorite people. We went through that ·large [vast] and terrible ·desert [wilderness] you saw, and then we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 I said to you, “You have now come to the mountain country of the Amorites, to the land the Lord our God will give us. 21 Look, here it is! Go up and ·take [possess] it. The Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], told you to do this, so don’t be afraid and don’t ·worry [be dismayed].”

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let’s send men before us to spy out the land. They can come back and ·tell us [bring back a report] about the way we should go and the cities we will find [Num. 13–14].”

23 ·I thought that was a good idea [L The matter was good/right in my eyes], so I ·chose [took] twelve of your men, one for each tribe. 24 They ·left [L turned face] and went up to the mountains, and when they came to the ·Valley of [Wadi] Eshcol they ·explored [spied on] it. 25 They took some of the fruit from that land and brought it down to us, ·saying [L and gave us a report, saying], “It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.”

Israel Refuses to Enter

26 But you refused to go. You ·would not obey [rebelled against] the command of the Lord your God, 27 but grumbled in your tents, saying, “The Lord hates us. He brought us out of Egypt just to give us to the Amorites, who will destroy us. 28 Where can we go now? ·The spies we sent have [L Our relatives/brothers] made ·us afraid [L our hearts melt], because they said, ‘The people there are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are big, with walls up to the ·sky [heavens]. And we saw the Anakites there [Num. 13:28–33]!’”

29 Then I said to you, “Don’t be frightened; don’t be afraid of those people. 30 The Lord your God will go ahead of you and fight for you as he did in Egypt; ·you saw him do it [L before your eyes]. 31 And in the ·desert [wilderness] you saw how the Lord your God carried you, like one carries a child [Ps. 131]. And he has brought you safely all the way to this place.”

32 But you still did not trust the Lord your God, even though 33 he had always gone before you to find places for you to camp. In a fire at night and in a cloud during the day, he showed you which way to go.

34 When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and ·made an oath [swore], saying, 35 “I promised a good land to your ·ancestors [fathers], but none of ·you evil people [this evil generation] will see it. 36 Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will see it [Num. 14:24]. I will give him and his descendants the land he walked on, because he followed the Lord completely [Josh. 15:13–19; Judg. 1:9–15].”

37 Because of you, the Lord was also angry with me and said, “You won’t enter the land either [Num. 20:12], 38 but ·your assistant [L the one who stands before you], Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to take the land for their own.

39 “Your little children that you said would be ·captured [plunder], who do not know right from wrong at this time, will go into the land. I will give the land to them, and they will ·take it for their own [possess it]. 40 But you must turn ·around [L face] and follow the ·desert [wilderness] road toward the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [Ex. 10:19].”

41 Then you said to me, “We have sinned against the Lord, but now we will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” Then all of you put on weapons, thinking it would be easy to go into the mountains.

42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell the people, ‘You must not go up there and fight. I will not be with you, and your enemies will defeat you.’”

43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You ·would not obey [rebelled against] the Lord’s command. You were ·proud [presumptuous], so you went on up into the mountains, 44 and the Amorites who lived in those mountains came out and fought you. They ·chased [swarmed over] you like bees and ·defeated [L struck] you from ·Edom [L Seir; C another name for Edom] to Hormah [Num. 14:39–45]. 45 So you came back and cried before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to you; he refused to pay attention to you. 46 So you stayed in Kadesh a long time.

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Spies Sent Out

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites(A) through all that vast and dreadful wilderness(B) that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.(C) 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession(D) of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid;(E) do not be discouraged.”(F)

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy(G) out the land(H) for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected(I) twelve of you, one man from each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol(J) and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,(K) “It is a good land(L) that the Lord our God is giving us.”(M)

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up;(N) you rebelled(O) against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled(P) in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller(Q) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites(R) there.’”

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid(S) of them.(T) 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight(U) for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried(V) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”(W)

32 In spite of this,(X) you did not trust(Y) in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day,(Z) to search(AA) out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

34 When the Lord heard(AB) what you said, he was angry(AC) and solemnly swore:(AD) 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land(AE) I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb(AF) son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.(AG)

37 Because of you the Lord became angry(AH) with me also and said, “You shall not enter(AI) it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua(AJ) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage(AK) him, because he will lead(AL) Israel to inherit(AM) it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,(AN) your children who do not yet know(AO) good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a](AP)

41 Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”(AQ)

43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees(AR) and beat you down from Seir(AS) all the way to Hormah.(AT) 45 You came back and wept before the Lord,(AU) but he paid no attention(AV) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear(AW) to you. 46 And so you stayed in Kadesh(AX) many days—all the time you spent there.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:40 Or the Sea of Reeds