New International Version
Numbers 13:32
32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.
Numbers 13:32 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So they 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 all the people that we saw in it are of great height.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.
Context of Numbers 13:32
30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 31But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Read all of Numbers 13Numbers 13:32 word by word
וַיּוֹצִ֜יאוּ דִּבַּ֤ת הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּר֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָ֡רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֩ עָבַ֨רְנוּ בָ֜הּ לָת֣וּר אֹתָ֗הּ אֶ֣רֶץ אֹכֶ֤לֶת יוֹשְׁבֶ֙יהָ֙ הִ֔וא וְכָל־הָעָ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־רָאִ֥ינוּ בְתוֹכָ֖הּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י מִדּֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they brought upיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: sendH3318
- an evil reportדִּבָּהdibbâh · slanderH1681
- of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- which they had searchedתּוּרtûr · to spyH8446
- unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- through which we have goneעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
- that eateth upאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- thereof; and all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- that we sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- in itתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- of a great statureמִדָּהmiddâh · measureH4060
Cross-references for Numbers 13:32
- Numbers 14:36So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—
- Deuteronomy 1:28Where 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.’ ”
- Matthew 23:13“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 36:13“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,”
- Amos 2:9“Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.
- 2 Samuel 21:20In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha.
- 1 Chronicles 20:6In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha.
Commentaries on Numbers 13:32
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 32Men of a great stature - מדות אנשי anshey middoth, men of measures - two men's height; i. e., exceedingly tall men.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 32A land that eateth up - i. e. it is a land which from its position is exposed to incessant attacks from one quarter and another, and so its occupants must be always armed and watchful.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-33Verses 26-33 We may wonder that the people of Israel staid forty days for the return of their spies, when they were ready to enter Canaan, under all the assurances of success they could have from the Divine power, and the miracles that had hitherto attended them. But they distrusted God's power and promise. How much we stand in our own light by our unbelief! At length the messengers returned; but the greater part discouraged the people from going forward…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-34Twelve spies explored the fertile land of Canaan and found strong enemies defending it. Earlier chapters show Israel's disobedience, hinting at future failures. The Israelites did not have the obedience, courage, or faith to capture the land. So, the Lord made them spend 40 years in the Wilderness of Sinai. That generation did not receive their inheritance in the promised land.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3232. a land that eateth up the inhabitants--that is, an unhealthy climate and country. Jewish writers say that in the course of their travels they saw a great many funerals, vast numbers of the Canaanites being cut off at that time, in the providence of God, by a plague or the hornet (Jos 24:12). men of a great stature--This was evidently a false and exaggerated report, representing, from timidity or malicious artifice, what was true of a few as…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 13:32
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 13
- 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
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