²⁷They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,^c and here is some of its fruit. ²⁸However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.^d We also saw the descendants of Anak^e there. ²⁹The Amalekites^f are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”

³⁰Then Caleb^g quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”

³¹But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” ³²So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. ³³We even saw the Nephilim^h there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim!ⁱ To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”

ISRAEL’S REFUSAL TO ENTER CANAAN

14Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. ²All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron,^j and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! ³Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder.^k Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”^l ⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

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Cross references

c Ex 3:8; Lv 20:24; Nm 14:8; 16:13–14
d Dt 1:28; 3:5; 9:1; Jos 14:12
e Nm 13:22,33; Dt 1:28; 2:10–11,21
f Ex 17:8–16; Nm 14:25,43,45; Dt 25:17–19
g Nm 14:6,24,30,38; 26:65
h Gn 6:4
i Dt 2:10–11,20–21
j Ex 16:2,7–8; 17:3; Nm 14:27; 16:11,41; Ps 59:15
k Gn 34:29; Nm 14:31
l Nm 11:5; Dt 17:16; Neh 9:17; Ac 7:39