The Spies Explore Canaan (Deuteronomy 1:19–25)
1 AKJV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: And the LORD said to Moses,
2 AKJV Send you men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them. BSB BSB: “Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”
3 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: So at the command of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,
4 AKJV And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. BSB BSB: and these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 AKJV Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 AKJV Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 AKJV Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 AKJV Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 AKJV Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 AKJV Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 AKJV Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 AKJV Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 AKJV Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 AKJV Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. BSB BSB: from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 AKJV Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. BSB BSB: and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.
16 AKJV These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. BSB BSB: These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.
17 AKJV And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: BSB BSB: When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.
18 AKJV And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwells therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; BSB BSB: See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many.
19 AKJV 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; BSB BSB: Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications?
20 AKJV And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be you of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes. BSB BSB: Is the soil fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 AKJV So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, as men come to Hamath. BSB BSB: So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.
22 AKJV And they ascended by the south, and came to Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) BSB BSB: They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
23 AKJV And they came to the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it between two on a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. BSB BSB: When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.
24 AKJV The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from there. BSB BSB: Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
The Reports of the Spies 25 AKJV And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. BSB BSB: After forty days the men returned from spying out the land,
27 AKJV And they told him, and said, We came to the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. BSB BSB: And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit!
28 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.
29 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”
31 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”
32 AKJV And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched to the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. BSB BSB: So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature.
33 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”