1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 ^g“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from ^hthe wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 ⁱfrom the tribe of Judah, ^jCaleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, ^kHoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called ^kHoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into ^lthe Negeb and go up into ^mthe hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is ⁿrich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. ^oBe of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and spied out the land ^pfrom the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, ^qnear Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into ^mthe Negeb and came to ^rHebron. ^sAhiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the ^tdescendants of Anak, were there. (^uHebron was built seven years before ^uZoan in Egypt.) 23 And ^vthey came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol,¹ because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at ^wKadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It ^xflows with milk and honey, ^yand this is its fruit. 28 ^zHowever, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 ^aThe Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. ^bAnd the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

30 But ^cCaleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 ^dThen 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 are.” 32 So ^ethey brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and ^fall the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the ^gNephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the ^gNephilim), and we seemed to ourselves ^hlike grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people ⁱwept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel ^jgrumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or ^kwould that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? ^lOur wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, ^m“Let us choose a leader and ⁿgo back to Egypt.”

5 Then ^oMoses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 ^pAnd Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ^q“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If ^rthe Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^sa land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only ^tdo not rebel against the Lord. And ^udo not fear the people of the land, for ^vthey are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 ^wThen all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But ^xthe glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people ^ydespise me? And how long will they not ^zbelieve in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I ^awill make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

13 But ^bMoses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. ^cThey have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and ^dyour cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord ^ewas not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ^f‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, ^gvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please ^hpardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ⁱas you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, ^jaccording to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all ^kthe earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 ^lnone of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ^mten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 ⁿshall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant ^oCaleb, because he has a different spirit and has ^pfollowed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 ^qNow, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, ^rturn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall ^sthis wicked congregation grumble against me? ^tI have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ^u‘As I live, declares the Lord, ^vwhat you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 ^wyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and ^xof all your number, listed in the census ^yfrom twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I ^zswore that I would make you dwell, ^aexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 ^bBut your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that ^cyou have rejected. 32 But as for you, ^wyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children ^dshall be shepherds in the wilderness ^eforty years and shall ^fsuffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 ^gAccording to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^hforty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 ⁱI, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all ^jthis wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

36 ^kAnd the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—^ldied by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, ^monly Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people ⁿmourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, ^o“Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 ^pBut Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 ^qDo not go up, ^rfor the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there ^sthe Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 ^tBut they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither ^uthe ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then ^vthe Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to ^wHormah.

1 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came ^kinto the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And ^lMiriam died there and was buried there.

2 ^mNow there was no water for the congregation. ⁿAnd they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people ^oquarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished ^pwhen our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And ^qwhy have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^rfell on their faces. ^sAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 ^t“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So ^uyou shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff ^vfrom before the Lord, as he commanded him.

10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ^w“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, ^uand water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because ^xyou did not believe in me, ^yto uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 ^zThese are the waters of Meribah,¹ where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.

14 ^aMoses sent messengers from Kadesh to ^bthe king of Edom: “Thus says ^cyour brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 ^dhow our fathers went down to Egypt, ^eand we lived in Egypt a long time. ^fAnd the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And ^gwhen we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and ^hsent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 ⁱPlease let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, ^jor drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 18 But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” 19 And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, ^kand if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, ^lthen I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” 20 But he said, ^m“You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom ⁿrefused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel ^oturned away from him.

22 And they journeyed from ^pKadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to ^qMount Hor. 23 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, 24 ^r“Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because ^syou rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron ^rshall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” 27 Moses did as the Lord commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 ^tAnd Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there ^uon the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, ^vall the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

1 When ^wthe Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in ^xthe Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 ^yAnd Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”² 3 And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called ^zHormah.³

4 From Mount Hor ^athey set out by the way to the Red Sea, ^bto go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people ^cspoke against God and against Moses, ^d“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ^ewe loathe this worthless food.” 6 ^fThen the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and ^gthey bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 ^hAnd the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. ⁱPray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So ^jMoses made a bronze⁴ serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

10 And the people of Israel set out and ^kcamped in Oboth. 11 ^kAnd they set out from Oboth and ^kcamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in ^lthe Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the ^mArnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

16 And from there they continued ^oto Beer;⁵ that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that ^pI may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:

And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah ^rthat looks down on the desert.⁶

21 Then ^sIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 ^t“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 ^uBut Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and ^vcame to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 ^wAnd Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the ^xJabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore the ^yballad singers say,