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Numbers 13
New International Reader's Version
Numbers 13
New International Reader's Version
Twelve Men Check Out the Land of Canaan
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to check out the land of Canaan. I am giving it to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of Israel’s tribes.”
3 So Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. He sent them as the Lord had commanded. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.
4 Here are their names.
There was Shammua from the tribe of Reuben. Shammua was the son of Zakkur.
5 There was Shaphat from the tribe of Simeon. Shaphat was the son of Hori.
6 There was Caleb from the tribe of Judah. Caleb was the son of Jephunneh.
7 There was Igal from the tribe of Issachar. Igal was the son of Joseph.
8 There was Hoshea from the tribe of Ephraim. Hoshea was the son of Nun.
9 There was Palti from the tribe of Benjamin. Palti was the son of Raphu.
10 There was Gaddiel from the tribe of Zebulun. Gaddiel was the son of Sodi.
11 There was Gaddi from the tribe of Manasseh. Gaddi was the son of Susi. Manasseh was a tribe of Joseph.
12 There was Ammiel from the tribe of Dan. Ammiel was the son of Gemalli.
13 There was Sethur from the tribe of Asher. Sethur was the son of Michael.
14 There was Nahbi from the tribe of Naphtali. Nahbi was the son of Vophsi.
15 There was Geuel from the tribe of Gad. Geuel was the son of Maki.
16 Those are the men Moses sent to check out the land. He gave the name Joshua to Hoshea, the son of Nun.
17 Moses sent the 12 men to check out Canaan. He said, “Go up through the Negev Desert. Go on into the central hill country. 18 See what the land is like. See whether the people who live there are strong or weak. See whether they are 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? Do the towns have high walls around them or not? 20 How is the soil? Is it rich land or poor land? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.
21 So the men went up and checked out the land. They went from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob. It was in the direction of Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev Desert and came to Hebron. That’s where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai lived. They belonged to the family line of Anak. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan. Zoan was a city in Egypt. 23 The men came to the Valley of Eshkol. There they cut off a branch that had a single bunch of grapes on it. Two of them carried it on a pole between them. They carried some pomegranates and figs along with it. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol. That’s because the men of Israel cut off a bunch of grapes there. 25 At the end of 40 days, the men returned from checking out the land.
The Men Report on What They Found
26 The men came back to Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel. The people were at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There the men reported to Moses and Aaron and all the people. They showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses their report. They said, “We went into the land you sent us to. It really does have plenty of milk and honey! Here’s some fruit from the land. 28 But the people who live there are powerful. Their cities have high walls around them and are very large. We even saw members of the family line of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev Desert. The Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the central hill country. The Canaanites live near the Mediterranean Sea. They also live along the Jordan River.”
30 Then Caleb interrupted the men speaking to Moses. He said, “We should go up and take the land. We can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him spoke. They said, “We can’t attack those people. They are stronger than we are.” 32 The men spread a bad report about the land among the Israelites. They said, “The land we checked out destroys those who live in it. All the people we saw there are very big and tall. 33 We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And that’s also how we seemed to them.” The family line of Anak came from the Nephilim.
Numbers 13
New International Version
Numbers 13
New International Version
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:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;(F)
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;(G)
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
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.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 13:23 Eshkol means cluster; also in verse 24.
Numbers 13
King James Version
Numbers 13
King James Version
13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
3 And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.
4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.
9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
18 And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
21 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
24 The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 
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