26 Bible Verses about Spying

The wicked lies in wait for the righteous
And seeks to kill him.

Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come [with a malicious purpose] to observe the undefended parts of our land.”

Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies.

Send one of you [back home], and let him bring your brother [here], while [the rest of] you remain confined, so that your words may be tested, [to see] whether there is any truth in you [and your story]; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, certainly you are spies.”

We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.”

But we told him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.

“The man who is the lord of the land spoke harshly to us, and took us for spies of the land.

Bring your youngest brother to me; then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will return your [imprisoned] brother [back] to you, and you may trade and do business in the land.’”

“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. From each of their fathers’ tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and made all the congregation murmur and complain against him by bringing back a bad report concerning the land,

This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land!

I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land [of Canaan], and I brought a report back to him as it was in my heart.

Now Moses sent men to spy out Jazer, and they overthrew its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as scouts secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho [the walled city].” So they went and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there. Now the king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy and search out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, because they have come [as spies] to search out all the land.”

But Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all that she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.”

So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and everything that she had; and she has lived among Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers (scouts) whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

By faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies [sent by the sons of Israel] in peace.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

So the sons of Dan sent from the total number of their [extended] family five brave men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout the land and to explore it; and they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

David sent out spies, and he learned that Saul was definitely coming.

You know Abner the son of Ner, that he [only] came to deceive you [with flattering words] and to learn of your going out and coming in, and to find out what you are doing.”

But the princes of the Ammonites [were suspicious and] said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?”

But the leaders of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Do you think that David has sent people to console and comfort you because he honors your father? Have his servants not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?”

But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’”

So they watched [for a chance to trap] Him. They sent spies who pretended to be upright and sincere, in order that they might catch Him in some statement [that they could distort and use against Him], so that they could turn Him over to the control and authority of [Pilate] the governor.

My concern was because of the false brothers [those people masquerading as Christians] who had been secretly smuggled in [to the community of believers]. They had slipped in to spy on the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us back into bondage [under the Law of Moses].