Numbers

Tells about the Israelites' 40 years in the desert, including their travels and the census of their tribes.

Chapter 13

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

*Send people to explore Canaan, the land I am giving to the children of Israel. Choose one man from each tribe to lead them.

3 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.

*Moses, following God's order, sent these men away from the desert of Paran. They were all leaders of the people of Israel.

4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.

*In the Reuben tribe, there was a person named Shammua, whose dad was Zaccur.

5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.

*From the Simeon family group, Shaphat, who is Hori's child.

6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

*From the Judah tribe, Caleb, son of Jephunneh.

7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.

*From the group of Issachar people, there is Igal, who is Joseph's child.

8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.

*From the Ephraim group, Oshea, son of Nun.

9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.

*From the Benjamin tribe, Palti, son of Raphu.

10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.

*From the group called Zebulun, there was a person named Gaddiel, who was the child of Sodi.

11 Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.

*From the family of Joseph, specifically, the family of Manasseh, Gaddi was the son of Susi.

12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.

*From the Dan tribe, Ammiel, son of Gemalli.

13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.

*From the group called Asher, there is a person named Sethur, who is the child of someone named Michael.

14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.

*From the Naphtali tribe, Nahbi, son of Vophsi.

15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

*From the Gad tribe, Geuel was the son of Machi.

16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.

*These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. Moses also called Oshea, son of Nun, Jehoshua.

17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:

*Moses sent them to explore Canaan's land and instructed them, "Go southwards, then climb the mountain."

18 And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;

*Look at the land and its condition, and the people living there to know if they are strong or weak, few or many.

19 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;

*The verse says: "What kind of land do they live in - good or bad? What type of cities do they live in - tents or strongholds?"

20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

*The verse says: Describe the land - if it's rich or poor, has trees or not. Be brave and gather fruits, especially when grapes are just ripe.

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

*So they traveled and explored the land from the desert of Zin to Rehob, as far as people go to Hamath.

22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

*They went to the south and reached Hebron. There, Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, who were Anak's children, lived. Hebron was constructed seven years before Zoan in Egypt.

23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

*They reached the Eshcol stream, where they cut a grape vine with one large bunch of grapes. They carried it on a stick held by two people. They also gathered pomegranates and figs.

24 The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.

*The location was named Brook Eshcol because the Israeli kids chopped down grape clusters from there.

25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

*After 40 days, they went back from looking at the land.

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

*They went to Moses, Aaron, and everyone in the Israelite group in the desert of Paran at Kadesh. They told them about the land's fruit.

27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

*They said to him, "We went to the land you sent us to, and it's full of milk and honey. Here's some of its fruit."

28 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.

*However, the people living in the land were strong, and the cities had big walls. They were also very large. Additionally, 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 coast of Jordan.

*The Amalekites live in the southern land, while the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountains. The Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan River.

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.

*Caleb calmed the people and spoke to Moses, saying, "Let's go up now and take control of this place because we have the strength to defeat them."

31 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.

*But the men who went with him said, "We can't fight the people because they are stronger than us."

32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

*They told the Israelites bad things about the land they explored, saying, "The land we walked through eats up its people, and we saw very tall people living there."

33 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.

*In that place, we saw the giant people called Anak's children, who were also giants themselves. We felt tiny like little insects, and they probably saw us the same way.

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