New International Version
Deuteronomy 1:28
28Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’ ”
Deuteronomy 1:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there."'
- New King James Version (NKJV)Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ’
- New Living Translation (NLT)Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’
Context of Deuteronomy 1:28
26But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27You grumbled 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. Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’ ” 29Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes,
Read all of Deuteronomy 1Deuteronomy 1:28 word by word
אָנָ֣ה׀ אֲנַ֣חְנוּ עֹלִ֗ים אַחֵינוּ֩ הֵמַ֨סּוּ אֶת־לְבָבֵ֜נוּ לֵאמֹ֗ר עַ֣ם גָּד֤וֹל וָרָם֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ עָרִ֛ים גְּדֹלֹ֥ת וּבְצוּרֹ֖ת בַּשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְגַם־בְּנֵ֥י עֲנָקִ֖ים רָאִ֥ינוּ שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Whither shall we go upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- our brethrenאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
- have discouragedמָסַסmâsas · to meltH4549
- our heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- greaterגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- and tallerרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
- than we; the citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- and walled upבָּצַרbâtsar · to gather/restrain/fortifyH1219
- to heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- and moreover we have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of the Anakimsעֲנָקִי‛ănâqîy · AnakimH6062
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 1:28
- Deuteronomy 20:8Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.”
- Exodus 15:15The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away;
- Joshua 2:9and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.
- Joshua 14:8but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.
- Isaiah 13:7Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear.
- Ezekiel 21:7And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
- Deuteronomy 9:1Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.
- Numbers 13:28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
- Deuteronomy 9:2The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”
- Joshua 11:22No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.
- Joshua 15:14From Hebron Caleb drove out the three Anakites—Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, the sons of Anak.
- Judges 1:10They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.
- 2 Samuel 21:16And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 1:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Cities - walled up to heaven - That is, with very high walls which could not be easily scaled. High walls around houses, etc., in these parts of Arabia are still deemed a sufficient defense against the Arabs, who scarcely ever attempt any thing in the way of plunder but on horseback. The monastery on Mount Sinai is surrounded with very high walls without any gate; in the upper part of the wall there is a sort of window, or opening, from which a basket is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-46Verses 19-46 Moses reminds the Israelites of their march from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, through that great and terrible wilderness. He shows how near they were to a happy settlement in Canaan. It will aggravate the eternal ruin of hypocrites, that they were not far from the kingdom of God. As if it were not enough that they were sure of their God before them, they would send men before them. Never any looked into the Holy Land, but they must own it to be a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28Anak was known as a man of very large size (2:10, 21; 9:2; Numbers 13:33). Goliath may have been one of Anak’s descendants (1 Samuel 17:4). Some of Anak’s family moved to the Philistine coastal plain (Deuteronomy 2:23; Joshua 11:21–23; 15:14; 1 Chronicles 20:4–8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-3322-33. ye came ... and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land--The proposal to despatch spies emanated from the people through unbelief; but Moses, believing them sincere, gave his cordial assent to this measure, and God on being consulted permitted them to follow the suggestion (see on Nu 13:1). The issue proved disastrous to them, only through their own sin and folly.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 1:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries