Numbers 13

1. And the LORD spoke to Moses saying,

2. “Send men so that they may scout out the land of Canaan which I give to the children of Israel. You shall send a man from every tribe of their fathers, everyone a leader among them.”

3. And Moses by the command 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, 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 were the names of the men whom Moses sent to scout out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

17. And Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way, southward, and go up into the mountain.

18. And see the land, what it is, and the people that live in it, whether it is strong or weak, few or many.

19. And see what the land is that they live in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they dwell in, whether in tents or in strongholds;

20. And what the land is, whether fat or lean, whether there is wood in it or not. And be of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of first ripe grapes.

21. So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob as men come to Hamath.

22. And they went up by the south and came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the sons of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23. And they came to the valley of Eshcol and cut from there a branch with one cluster of grapes. And they carried it between two men upon a staff, and some of the pomegranates and of the figs.

24. The place was called the valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from there.

25. And they returned from scouting out the land after forty days.

26. And they left and came to Moses and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh. And they brought back word to them, and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

27. 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.

28. However, the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are walled, very great. And also 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 riverside 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 are 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 scouted out to the children of Israel, saying, “The land through which we have gone to scout it out, is a land that eats up those who live in it. And all the people whom we saw in it were men of great stature.

33. And there we saw the giants, the children of Anak of the giants. And we were in our own sight like grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”