Now then, listen to this, you lover of pleasure. You live securely and say to yourself, “I’m the only one, and there’s no one else. I won’t live as a widow. I won’t suffer the loss of children.”
Then you will ask yourself, “Who has fathered these ⌞children⌟ for me? I was childless and unable to have children. I was exiled and rejected. Who raised these ⌞children for me⌟? I was left alone. Where have they come from?”
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.
The Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I’ll hand him, all his troops, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.”
Where are we going anyway? Our own men have discouraged us by saying, ‘The people there are taller and stronger than we are. The cities are big with sky-high walls! We even saw the people of Anak there.’ ”
When the seventh year—the year when payments on debts are canceled—is near, you might be stingy toward poor Israelites and give them nothing. Be careful not to think these worthless thoughts. The poor will complain to the Lord about you, and you will be condemned for your sin.