The Twelve Spies and Israel's Response

The Lord told Moses to send one leader from each tribe to explore Canaan, the land he was giving Israel. Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran and told them to see what the land and its cities were like, and to bring back some fruit. After forty days, they returned with grapes, pomegranates, and figs.

The spies said the land was fruitful, but they also reported strong people and fortified cities. Caleb urged the people to go up at once. But the other spies spread a fearful report, saying the land would consume its inhabitants and that its people were far too great for them.

That night the people wept and complained against Moses and Aaron. They talked about returning to Egypt. Moses and Aaron fell before the assembly, and Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes. They said the land was very good and warned the people not to rebel against the Lord or fear the people there. But the congregation threatened to stone them.

Then the Lord's glory appeared at the Tent of Meeting. The Lord spoke of the people's unbelief, and Moses pleaded for mercy, asking the Lord to forgive them for the sake of his name and according to his great love. The Lord pardoned them, but declared that those counted from twenty years old and upward, who had complained against him, would not enter the land. Only Caleb and Joshua would enter, while their children would wander in the wilderness for forty years.

The men who had brought the harmful report died before the Lord, but Joshua and Caleb remained alive. When Moses told the people, they mourned. The next morning some of them tried to go up anyway, even though Moses warned that the Lord was not with them. They went without Moses and without the ark from the camp, and the Amalekites and Canaanites struck them down.