“The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe.
Parallel translations
- WEB The thing pleased me well. I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe.
- KJV And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:
- BSB The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.
- NASB The plan pleased me, and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.
- NLT “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses approved the plan and chose twelve men, one per tribe, to spy out the land. The mission was undertaken with proper representation and order.
Overview
Moses accepted the proposal and selected twelve representatives, one from each tribe, ensuring the whole nation shared in the investigation. The orderly, inclusive process shows that the coming failure was not due to faulty planning but to the people's hearts. The contrast between sound preparation and faithless response highlights that the decisive issue in following God is always trust, the very faith the gospel calls forth toward Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Num 13:3–33Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Yahweh. All them were men who were heads of the children of Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 1:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.