New Living Translation
Numbers 13:31
31But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”
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 King James Version (NKJV)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.”
Context of Numbers 13:31
29The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.” 30But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” 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!” 32So 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. 33We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
Read all of Numbers 13Numbers 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.
Cross-references for Numbers 13:31
- Numbers 32:9After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them.
- Deuteronomy 1:28Where 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!”’
- Joshua 14:8but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.
- Hebrews 3:19So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.
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
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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