Allotment for Caleb

⁶ Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal,^(A) and Caleb son of Jephunneh^(B) the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God^(C) at Kadesh Barnea^(D) about you and me.^{(E) 7} I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea^(F) to explore the land.^(G) And I brought him back a report according to my convictions,^{(H) 8} but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear.^(I) I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.^{(J) 9} So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance^(K) and that of your children^(L) forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’^[a]

¹⁰ “Now then, just as the Lord promised,^(M) he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved^(N) about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!^{(O) 11} I am still as strong^(P) today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous^(Q) to go out to battle now as I was then. ¹² Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.^(R) You yourself heard then that the Anakites^(S) were there and their cities were large and fortified,^(T) but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

¹³ Then Joshua blessed^(U) Caleb son of Jephunneh^(V) and gave him Hebron^(W) as his inheritance.^{(X) 14} So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.^{(Y) 15} (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba^(Z) after Arba,^(AA) who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)

Then the land had rest^(AB) from war.

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.”

The People Rebel

14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.^{(AZ) 2} All the Israelites grumbled^(BA) against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!^(BB) Or in this wilderness!^{(BC) 3} Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?^(BD) Our wives and children^(BE) will be taken as plunder.^(BF) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?^(BG)” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.^(BH)”

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²⁷ “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.^{(A) 28} So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,^(B) declares the Lord, I will do to you^(C) the very thing I heard you say: ²⁹ In this wilderness your bodies will fall^(D)—every one of you twenty years old or more^(E) who was counted in the census^(F) and who has grumbled against me. ³⁰ Not one of you will enter the land^(G) I swore with uplifted hand^(H) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh^(I) and Joshua son of Nun.^{(J) 31} As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.^(K)

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.”

⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land^(A)—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;^{(B) 8} a land with wheat and barley,^(C) vines^(D) and fig trees,^(E) pomegranates, olive oil and honey;^{(F) 9} a land where bread^(G) will not be scarce and you will lack nothing;^(H) a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.^(I)

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied,^(J) praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

⁴ Now that the Lord your God has given them rest^(A) as he promised, return to your homes^(B) in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.^{(C) 5} But be very careful to keep the commandment^(D) and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord^(E) your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands,^(F) to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.^(G)”