23. That seemed like a good idea to me. So I chose 12 of you. I picked one man from each tribe.
24. They left and went up into the hill country. There they came to the Valley of Eshcol. They checked it out.
25. They got some of the fruit of that land. They brought it down to us and gave us their report. They said, "The Lord our God is giving us a good land."
26. But you wouldn't go up. You refused to obey the command of the Lord your God.
27. You spoke against him in your tents. You said, "The Lord hates us. That's why he brought us out of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites. He wanted to destroy us.
28. Where can we go? The men who checked out the land have made us lose hope. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are large. They have walls that reach up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.' "
29. Then I said to you, "Don't be terrified. Don't be afraid of them.
30. The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will fight for you. With your own eyes you saw how he fought for you in Egypt.
31. "You also saw how the Lord your God brought you through the desert. He carried you everywhere you went, just as a father carries his son. And now you have arrived here."
32. In spite of that, you didn't trust in the Lord your God.
33. He went ahead of you on your journey. He was in the fire at night and in the cloud during the day. He found places for you to camp. He showed you the way you should go.
34. The Lord heard what you said. So he became angry. He took an oath and made a promise. He said,
35. "I promised to give this good land to your people long ago. But not one of you evil men who are alive today will see it.
36. "Only Caleb will see the land. He is the son of Jephunneh. I will give him and his children after him the land he walked on. He followed me with his whole heart."
37. Because of you, the Lord became angry with me also. He said, "You will not enter the land either.
38. But Joshua, the son of Nun, is your helper. Joshua will enter the land. Help him to be brave. Give him hope. He will lead Israel to take the land as their own.
39. "You said your little ones would be taken prisoner. But they will enter the land. They do not know right from wrong yet. But I will give them the land. They will take it as their own.
40. As for you, turn around. Start out toward the desert. Go along the road that leads to the Red Sea."
41. Then you replied, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight. We'll do just as the Lord our God has commanded us." So all of you got your swords and put them on. You thought it would be easy to go up into the hill country.
42. But the Lord spoke to me. He said, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight. I will not be with you. Your enemies will win the battle over you.' "