If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us.
Parallel translations
- WEB If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which flows with milk and honey.
- KJV If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
- NKJV If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’
- NASB If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey.
- NLT And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.
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
They declared that if the LORD delighted in Israel, He would surely give them the rich land. Victory depended on God's favor, not Israel's strength.
Overview
Joshua and Caleb grounded their confidence in God's delight and faithfulness rather than military odds. The land's abundance was a gift God was eager to grant a trusting people. This points to grace: the inheritance is received from God's pleasure, not earned by human power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Sam 22:20He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
- Isa 62:4No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.
- Num 13:27And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit!
- Deut 10:15Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. And He has chosen you, their descendants after them, above all the peoples, even to this day.
- Ps 147:10–11He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man.
- Rom 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Ps 22:8“He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”
- 1 Kgs 10:9Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
- Zeph 3:17The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Jer 32:41Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
- 2 Sam 15:25–26Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.
- Exod 3:8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
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 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
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.