New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 The LORD now said to Moses,
1
God spoke to Moses:
2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.”
2
"Send men to scout out the country of Canaan that I am giving to the People of Israel. Send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a tried-and-true leader in the tribe."
3 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.
3
So Moses sent them off from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of God. All of them were leaders in Israel, one from each tribe.
4 These were the tribes and the names of their leaders: Tribe Leader Reuben Shammua son of Zaccur
4
These were their names: from Reuben: Shammua son of Zaccur
5 Simeon Shaphat son of Hori
5
from Simeon: Shaphat son of Hori
6 Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh
6
from Judah: Caleb son of Jephunneh
7 Issachar Igal son of Joseph
7
from Issachar: Igal son of Joseph
8 Ephraim Hoshea son of Nun
8
from Ephraim: Hoshea son of Nun
9 Benjamin Palti son of Raphu
9
from Benjamin: Palti son of Raphu
10 Zebulun Gaddiel son of Sodi
10
from Zebulun: Gaddiel son of Sodi
11 Manasseh son of Joseph Gaddi son of Susi
11
from Manasseh (a Joseph tribe): Gaddi son of Susi
12 Dan Ammiel son of Gemalli
12
from Dan: Ammiel son of Gemalli
13 Asher Sethur son of Michael
13
from Asher: Sethur son of Michael
14 Naphtali Nahbi son of Vophsi
14
from Naphtali: Nahbi son of Vophsi
15 Gad Geuel son of Maki
15
from Gad: Geuel son of Maki
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
16
These are the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land. Moses gave Hoshea (Salvation) son of Nun a new name - Joshua (God-Saves).
17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country.
17
When Moses sent them off to scout out Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and then into the hill country.
18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.
18
Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many?
19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?
19
Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls?
20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
20
And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there - this is the season for the first ripe grapes."
21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.
21
With that they were on their way. They scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob toward Lebo Hamath.
22 Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)
22
Their route went through the Negev Desert to the town of Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of the giant Anak, lived there. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.
23
When they arrived at the Eshcol Valley they cut off a branch with a single cluster of grapes - it took two men to carry it - slung on a pole. They also picked some pomegranates and figs.
24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
24
They named the place Eshcol Valley (Grape-Cluster-Valley) because of the huge cluster of grapes they had cut down there.
25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned
25
After forty days of scouting out the land, they returned home.
26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.
26
They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.
27
Then they told the story of their trip:
28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!
28
The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak.
29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.”
29
Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan."
30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
30
Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, "Let's go up and take the land - now. We can do it."
31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”
31
But the others said, "We can't attack those people; they're way stronger than we are."
32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.
32
They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, "We scouted out the land from one end to the other - it's a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge.
33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
33
Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers."
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.