Weekly Readings

21 The tongue has the power of life and death,

and those who love to talk will have to eat their own words.

18 Careless words stab like a sword,

but the words of wise people bring healing.

A gentle answer turns away rage,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send men to explore Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors’ tribes.”

3 So at the Lord’s command, Moses sent these men from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

25 Forty days later, they came back from exploring the land. 26 They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land.

27 This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountain region. And the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all along the Jordan River.”

30 Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.”

31 But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!” 32 So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall.

Then all the people in the Israelite community raised their voices and cried out loud all that night. 2 They complained to Moses and Aaron, “If only we had died in Egypt or this desert! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land—just to have us die in battle? Our wives and children will be taken as prisoners of war! Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 They said to each other, “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

33 “Make a tree good, and then its fruit will be good. Or make a tree rotten, and then its fruit will be rotten. A person can recognize a tree by its fruit. 34 You poisonous snakes! How can you evil people say anything good? Your mouth says what comes from inside you. 35 Good people do the good things that are in them. But evil people do the evil things that are in them.

36 “I can guarantee that on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say. 37 By your words you will be declared innocent, or by your words you will be declared guilty.”