Nevertheless, my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed Yahweh my God.
Parallel translations
- KJV Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
- BSB Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God.
- NKJV Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.
- NASB Nevertheless my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God fully.
- NLT but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.
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
While the other spies discouraged the people, Caleb wholly followed the Lord his God.
Overview
Caleb contrasts his faithfulness with the fear that made the people's hearts melt. The phrase 'wholly followed Yahweh' is his repeated badge of honor (Numbers 14:24; 32:12). Wholehearted devotion, not partial or fearful obedience, is what God commends and rewards, a pattern fulfilled perfectly in Christ's complete obedience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Num 14:24But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him I will bring into the land into which he went. His offspring shall possess it.
- Deut 1:36except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him, and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh.”
- Num 13:31But the men who went up with him said, “We aren’t able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”
- Josh 14:14Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed Yahweh, the God of Israel wholeheartedly.
- Rev 14:4These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 14:8 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
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