unto me every one and said: Let us send men before us, to search us out
the land and to bring us word again, both what way we shall go up by,
and unto what cities we shall come. And the saying pleased me well, and
I took twelve men of you, of every tribe one. And they departed and
went up into the high country and came unto the river Escol, and
searched it out, and took of the fruit of the land in their hands and
brought it down unto us and brought us word again and said: it is a
good land which the LORD our God doeth give us. Notwithstanding ye
would not consent to go up, but were disobedient unto the mouth of the
LORD your God, and murmured in your tents and said: because the LORD
hateth us, therefore he hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, to
deliver us into the hands of the Amorites and to destroy us. How shall
we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts saying: the people
is greater and taller than we, and the cities are great and walled even
up to heaven, and moreover we have seen the sons of the Enakims there.
And I said unto you: dread not nor be afraid of them: The LORD your God
which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that
he did unto you in Egypt before your eyes and in the wilderness: as
thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee as a man should bear
his son, thorowout all the way which ye have gone, until ye came unto
this place. And yet for all this saying ye did not believe the LORD
your God which goeth the way before you, to search you out a place to
pitch your tents in, in fire by night, that ye might see what way to go
and in a cloud by day. And the LORD heard the voice of your words and
was wroth and swore saying, there shall not one of these men of this
froward generation see that good land which I sware to give unto your
fathers, save Caleb the son of Iephune, he shall see it, and to him I
will give the land which he hath walked in and to his children, because
he hath continually followed the LORD. Likewise the LORD was angry with
me for your sakes saying: thou also shalt not go in thither. But Iosua
the son of Nun which stondeth before thee, he shall go in thither. Bold
him therefore for he shall divide it unto Israel. Moreover your
children which ye said should be a prey, and your sons which know
neither good nor bad this day, they shall go in thither and unto them I
will give it, and they shall enjoy it. But as for you, turn back and
take your journey into the wilderness: even the way to the red sea.
Then ye answered and said unto me: We have sinned against the LORD: we
will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded
us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war and were
ready to go up into the hills, the LORD said unto me: say unto them,
see that ye go not up and that ye fight not, for I am not among you:
lest ye be plagued before your enemies. And when I told you ye would
not hear: but disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and went presumptuously
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account