Numbers 13-15

New King James Version

Spies Sent into Canaan^(A)

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²^(B)“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

³So Moses sent them ^(C)from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. ⁴Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; ⁵from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; ⁶^(D)from the tribe of Judah, ^(E)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; ⁷from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; ⁸from the tribe of Ephraim, ^[a]Hoshea the son of Nun; ⁹from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; ¹⁰from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; ¹¹from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; ¹²from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; ¹³from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; ¹⁴from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; ¹⁵from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

¹⁶These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to ^[b]spy out the land. And Moses called ^(F)Hoshea^[c] the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to ^(G)the mountains, ¹⁸and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; ¹⁹whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; ²⁰whether the land is ^[d]rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. ^(H)Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

²¹So they went up and spied out the land ^(I)from the Wilderness of Zin as far as ^(J)Rehob, near the entrance of ^(K)Hamath. ²²And they went up through the South and came to ^(L)Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of ^(M)Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³^(N)Then they came to the ^[e]Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. ²⁴The place was called the Valley of ^[f]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. ²⁵And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

²⁶Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at ^(O)Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly ^[g]flows with ^(P)milk and honey, ^(Q)and this is its fruit. ²⁸Nevertheless the ^(R)people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of ^(S)Anak there. ²⁹^(T)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

³⁰Then ^(U)Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

³¹^(V)But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” ³²And they ^(W)gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and ^(X)all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. ³³There we saw the ^[h]giants (^(Y)the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were ^(Z)like^[i] grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were ^(AA)in their sight.”

Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan

14 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people ^(AB)wept that night. ²^(AC)And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! ³Why has the Lord brought us to this land to ^[j]fall by the sword, that our wives and ^(AD)children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴So they said to one another, ^(AE)“Let us select a leader and ^(AF)return to Egypt.”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron ^[k]fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

⁶But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ^(AG)“The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸If the Lord ^(AH)delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(AI)‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ ⁹Only ^(AJ)do not rebel against the Lord, ^(AK)nor fear the people of the land, for ^(AL)they^[l] are our bread; their protection has departed from them, ^(AM)and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

¹⁰^(AN)And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now ^(AO)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹¹Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people ^(AP)reject^[m] Me? And how long will they not ^(AQ)believe Me, with all the ^[n]signs which I have performed among them? ¹²I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will ^(AR)make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³And ^(AS)Moses said to the Lord: ^(AT)“Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, ¹⁴and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have ^(AU)heard that You, Lord, are among these people; that You, Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, ¹⁶‘Because the Lord was not ^(AV)able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ¹⁸^(AW)‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, ^(AX)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹^(AY)Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, ^(AZ)according to the greatness of Your mercy, just ^(BA)as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, ^(BB)according to your word; ²¹but truly, as I live, ^(BC)all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— ²²^(BD)because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now ^(BE)these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, ²³they certainly shall not ^(BF)see the land of which I ^[o]swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. ²⁴But My servant ^(BG)Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and ^(BH)has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. ²⁵Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and ^(BI)move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”

Death Sentence on the Rebels

²⁶And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷^(BJ)“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? ^(BK)I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. ²⁸Say to them, ^(BL)‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: ²⁹The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, ^(BM)all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. ³⁰^(BN)Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I ^[p]swore I would make you dwell in. ³¹^(BO)But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall ^[q]know the land which ^(BP)you have despised. ³²But as for you, ^(BQ)your^[r] carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. ³³And your sons shall ^(BR)be ^[s]shepherds in the wilderness ^(BS)forty years, and ^(BT)bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. ³⁴^(BU)According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^(BV)forty days, for each day you shall bear your ^[t]guilt one year, namely forty years, ^(BW)and you shall know My ^[u]rejection. ³⁵^(BX)I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all ^(BY)this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ”

³⁶Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, ³⁷those very men who brought the evil report about the land, ^(BZ)died by the plague before the Lord. ³⁸^(CA)But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.

A Futile Invasion Attempt^(CB)

³⁹Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, ^(CC)and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, ^(CD)“Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

⁴¹And Moses said, “Now why do you ^[v]transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ⁴²^(CE)Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; ^(CF)because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

⁴⁴^(CG)But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as ^(CH)Hormah.

Laws of Grain and Drink Offerings

15 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²^(CI)“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, ³and you ^(CJ)make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, ^(CK)to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or ^(CL)in your appointed feasts, to make a ^(CM)sweet^[w] aroma to the Lord, from the herd or the flock, ⁴then ^(CN)he who presents his offering to the Lord shall bring ^(CO)a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed ^(CP)with one-fourth of a hin of oil; ⁵^(CQ)and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each ^(CR)lamb. ⁶^(CS)Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; ⁷and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the Lord. ⁸And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a ^(CT)peace offering to the Lord, ⁹then shall be offered ^(CU)with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; ¹⁰and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

¹¹^(CV)‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat. ¹²According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number. ¹³All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁴And if a stranger ^[x]dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall he do. ¹⁵^(CW)One ^[y]ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. ¹⁶One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”

¹⁷Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸^(CX)“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you, ¹⁹then it will be, when you eat of ^(CY)the bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the Lord. ²⁰^(CZ)You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as ^(DA)a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up. ²¹Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the Lord a heave offering throughout your generations.

Laws Concerning Unintentional Sin

²²^(DB)‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the Lord has spoken to Moses— ²³all that the Lord has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the Lord gave commandment and onward throughout your generations— ²⁴then it will be, ^(DC)if it is unintentionally committed, ^[z]without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord, ^(DD)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and ^(DE)one kid of the goats as a sin offering. ²⁵^(DF)So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their unintended sin. ²⁶It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally.

²⁷‘And ^(DG)if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. ²⁸^(DH)So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. ²⁹^(DI)You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.

Law Concerning Presumptuous Sin

³⁰^(DJ)‘But the person who does anything ^[aa]presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one ^[ab]brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be ^[ac]cut off from among his people. ³¹Because he has ^(DK)despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his ^[ad]guilt shall be upon him.’ ”

Penalty for Violating the Sabbath^(DL)

³²Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, ^(DM)they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. ³³And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. ³⁴They put him ^(DN)under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.

³⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(DO)“The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall ^(DP)stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶So, as the Lord commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.

Tassels on Garments

³⁷Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸“Speak to the children of Israel: Tell ^(DQ)them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. ³⁹And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and ^(DR)remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you ^(DS)may not ^(DT)follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, ⁴⁰and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be ^(DU)holy for your God. ⁴¹I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”