Spies Sent Out

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amoritesy through all that vast and dreadful wildernessz that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.a 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possessionb of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid;c do not be discouraged.”d

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spye out the landf 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 selectedg twelve of you, one man from each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkolh and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,i “It is a good landj that the Lord our God is giving us.”k

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up;l you rebelledm against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbledn 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 tallero than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakitesp there.’ ”

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraidq of them.r 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fights 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 carriedt you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”u