whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds;
Parallel translations
- WEB and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds;
- KJV And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
- BSB Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications?
- NASB And how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are the people in open camps or in fortifications?
- NLT See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?
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 asks them to evaluate whether the land is good and its cities fortified. Practical reconnaissance will reveal both the land's worth and its challenges.
Overview
The spies are to report on the quality of the land and the strength of its cities. The questions anticipate the rich land and the formidable defenses the spies will describe. How Israel responds to this report—trusting God or shrinking back—will determine the nation's course for a generation.
Cross-references & the web
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Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 13:19 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.