Numbers 13:2
New International Version
“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

New Living Translation
“Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.”

English Standard Version
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.”

Berean Standard Bible
“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”

King James Bible
Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

New King James Version
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

New American Standard Bible
“Send out men for yourself to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

NASB 1995
“Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

NASB 1977
“Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

Legacy Standard Bible
“Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

Amplified Bible
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. From each of their fathers’ tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

Christian Standard Bible
“Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”

American Standard Version
Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“Send men; they shall explore the land of Canaan that I give to the children of Israel; every Leader that is among them, send one man from the tribe of his fathers.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Send for thee men, and let them spy the land of the Chananites, which I give to the sons of Israel for a possession; one man for a tribe, thou shalt send them away according to their families, every one of them a prince.

Contemporary English Version
"Choose a leader from each tribe and send them into Canaan to explore the land I am giving you."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Send men to view the land of Chanaan, which I will give to the children of Israel, one of every tribe, of the rulers.

English Revised Version
Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Send men to explore Canaan, which I'm giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors' tribes."

Good News Translation
"Choose one of the leaders from each of the twelve tribes and send them as spies to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites."

International Standard Version
"Send men to explore the land of Canaan that I'm about to give to the Israelis. Send one man to represent each of his ancestor's tribes, every one of them a distinguished leader among them."

JPS Tanakh 1917
Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them.'

Literal Standard Version
“Send men for yourself, and they spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel; one man—you send one man for the tribe of his fathers, everyone a prince among them.”

Majority Standard Bible
“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”

New American Bible
Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, every one a leader among them.

NET Bible
"Send out men to investigate the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a leader among them."

New Revised Standard Version
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites; from each of their ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

New Heart English Bible
"Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a prince among them."

Webster's Bible Translation
Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

World English Bible
“Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a prince among them.”

Young's Literal Translation
'Send for thee men, and they spy the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel; one man, one man for the tribe of his fathers ye do send, every one a prince among them.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Spies Explore Canaan
1And the LORD said to Moses, 2“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.” 3So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,…

Cross References
Numbers 13:3
So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,

Deuteronomy 1:22
Then all of you approached me and said, "Let us send men ahead of us to search out the land and bring us word of what route to follow and which cities to enter."

Deuteronomy 9:23
And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, "Go up and possess the land that I have given you." But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him.


Treasury of Scripture

Send you men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them.

send thou

Numbers 32:8
Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.

Deuteronomy 1:22-25
And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come…

Joshua 2:1
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

of every

Numbers 1:4
And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

Numbers 34:18
And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.

a ruler

Numbers 11:16
And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

Exodus 18:25
And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Deuteronomy 1:15
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

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Ancestral Canaan Children Explore Israel Israelites Prince Ruler Search Spy Tribe Tribes
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Ancestral Canaan Children Explore Israel Israelites Prince Ruler Search Spy Tribe Tribes
Numbers 13
1. The names of the men who were sent to search the land
17. Their instructions
21. Their acts
26. Their relation














(2) Every one a ruler among them.--Or, a prince among them, as in Numbers 1:16. A comparison of the names which follow with those which are given in Numbers 1:5-15 will show that the persons selected were not the tribal princes who are mentioned in connection with the census. The tribe of Levi, as in the former case, is not represented, as the Levites were to have no inheritance in the land, and the number of twelve, as in Numbers 1, is. made up by the division of the tribe of Joseph into the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Verse 2. - Send thou men, that they may search the land. If this account of the mission of the spies be compared with that given in Deuteronomy 1:20-25, it may be seen in a striking instance how entirely different a colour may be put upon the same circumstances by two inspired narratives. No one indeed will affirm that the two records are contradictory, or even inconsistent, and yet they leave an entirely different impression upon the mind; and no doubt were intended to. It is important to note that the Divine inspiration did not in the least prevent two sacred authors (cf. 2 Samuel 24:1 with 1 Chronicles 21:1), or even the same author at different times, from placing on record very distinct and even strongly contrasted aspects of the same facts, according to the point of view from which he was led to regard them. In Deuteronomy 1, Moses reminds the people that on their arrival at Kadesh he had bidden them go up and take possession; that they had then proposed to send men before them to examine the land; that the proposal had pleased him so well that he had adopted it and acted upon it. It is unquestionably strange that facts so material should have been omitted in the historical Book of Numbers. It is, however, to be considered -

1. That there is no contradiction between the two accounts. We may be certain from many a recorded example that Moses would not have acted on the popular suggestion without referring the matter to the Lord, and that it would be the Divine command (when given) which would really weigh with him.

2. That the recital in Deuteronomy is distinctly ad populum, and that therefore their part in the whole transaction is as strongly emphasized as is consistent with the truth of the facts.

3. That the narrative of Numbers is fragmentary, and does not profess to give a full account of matters, especially in such particulars as do not directly concern the Divine government and guidance of Israel. It is not, therefore, a serious difficulty that the record only begins here at the point when God adopted as his own what had been the demand of the people. If we ask why he so adopted it, the probable answer is that he knew what secret disaffection prompted it, and to what open rebellion it would lead. It was better that such disaffection should be allowed to ripen into rebellion before they entered their promised land. Miserable as the desert wandering might be, it was yet a discipline which prepared the nation for better things; whereas the invasion of Canaan without strong faith, courage, and self-restraint (such as they showed under Joshua) could but have ended in national disaster and destruction. Of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man. This was not part of the original proposition (Deuteronomy 1:22), but was agreeable to the general practice in matters of national concern, and was no doubt commanded in order that the whole people might share in the interest and responsibility of this survey. Every one a ruler among them. This does not mean that they were to be the tribe princes (as the names show), for they would not be suitable in respect of age, nor could they be spared for this service. They were "heads of the children of Israel" (verse 3), i.e., men of position and repute, but also no doubt comparatively young and active, as befitted a toilsome and hazardous excursion.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Send
שְׁלַח־ (šə·laḥ-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

men
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

to spy
וְיָתֻ֙רוּ֙ (wə·yā·ṯu·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8446: To meander, about, for, trade, reconnoitring

out the land
אֶ֣רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

of Canaan,
כְּנַ֔עַן (kə·na·‘an)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3667: Canaan -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their land West of the Jordan

which
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

I
אֲנִ֥י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

am giving
נֹתֵ֖ן (nō·ṯên)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

to the Israelites.
לִבְנֵ֣י (liḇ·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

From each
כֹּ֖ל (kōl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

of their fathers'
אֲבֹתָיו֙ (’ă·ḇō·ṯāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

tribes
לְמַטֵּ֤ה (lə·maṭ·ṭêh)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

send
תִּשְׁלָ֔חוּ (tiš·lā·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

one
אֶחָד֩ (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

man
אִ֨ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

who is a leader
נָשִׂ֥יא (nā·śî)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5387: An exalted one, a king, sheik, a rising mist

among them.”
בָהֶֽם׃ (ḇā·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Numbers 13:2 Send you men that they may spy (Nu Num.)
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