22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy(A) out the land(B) for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected(C) twelve of you, one man from each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol(D) and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,(E) “It is a good land(F) that the Lord our God is giving us.”(G)

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up;(H) you rebelled(I) against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled(J) in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller(K) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites(L) there.’”

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid(M) of them.(N) 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight(O) for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried(P) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”(Q)

32 In spite of this,(R) you did not trust(S) in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day,(T) to search(U) out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

34 When the Lord heard(V) what you said, he was angry(W) and solemnly swore:(X) 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land(Y) I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb(Z) son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.(AA)

37 Because of you the Lord became angry(AB) with me also and said, “You shall not enter(AC) it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua(AD) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage(AE) him, because he will lead(AF) Israel to inherit(AG) it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,(AH) your children who do not yet know(AI) good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a](AJ)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:40 Or the Sea of Reeds

Bible Gateway Recommends