Numbers 13:31

Numbers 13:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
• New International Version (NIV)But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are."
• New Living Translation (NLT)But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”

Context of Numbers 13:31

29The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” 30Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32And 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. 33There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Numbers 13:31 word by word

וְהָ֨אֲנָשִׁ֜ים אֲשֶׁר־עָל֤וּ עִמּוֹ֙ אָֽמְר֔וּ לֹ֥א נוּכַ֖ל לַעֲל֣וֹת אֶל־הָעָ֑ם כִּֽי־חָזָ֥ק ה֖וּא מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• that went upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• with him saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We be not ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• against the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• strongerחָזָקchâzâq · strongH2389

Cross-references for Numbers 13:31

• Numbers 32:9For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them.
• Deuteronomy 1:28Where 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.” ’
• Joshua 14:8Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.
• Hebrews 3:19So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Commentaries on Numbers 13:31

• 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. 1-331-2. The Lord spake unto Moses, Send thou men, that they may search the land, of Canaan--Compare De 1:22, whence it appears, that while the proposal of delegating confidential men from each tribe to explore the land of Canaan emanated from the people who petitioned for it, the measure received the special sanction of God, who granted their request at once as a trial, and a punishment of their distrust.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 13:31

• Anakim
• Cowardice
• Israel
• Majority and Minority Reports
• Reports
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• Caleb
• Exodus
• Search
• Spies
• Agrapha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genealogy
• Joshua (2)
• Maccabees, Books of

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