Deuteronomy 1

Chapter 1

Introduction to Moses’ First Address

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valleyt near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.
2 Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinait to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.3 But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month,t Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say.

4 This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who had ruled in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

5 While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD’s instructions as follows.

The Command to Leave Sinai

6 “When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.7 It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills,t the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River.

8 Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe

9 Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.10 The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!11 And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!12 But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?

13 Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’
14 “Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’

15 So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.
16 “At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions

17 and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’

18 “At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.

Scouts Explore the Land

19 “Then, just as the LORD our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea,20 I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us.

21 Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’
23 “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.24 They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it.

25 They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the LORD our God has given us is indeed a good land.’

Israel’s Rebellion against the LORD

26 “But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in.27 You complained in your tents and said, ‘The LORD must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.

28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’
29 “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them!30 The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.

31 And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’
32 “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God,

33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.
34 “When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,35 ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,

36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the LORD completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’
37 “And the LORD was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land!38 Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it.39 I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it.

40 As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.t’

41 “Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the LORD! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the LORD our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

42 “But the LORD told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’
43 “This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the LORD’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight.44 But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah.45 Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen.

46 So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.

DEUTERONOMY 1

The Final Speeches //of Moses

1-5  t This book contains the speeches that Moses made while Israel was in the land of Moab, camped near the town of Suph in the desert east of the Jordan River. The town of Paran was in one direction from their camp, and the towns of Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahabt were in the opposite direction.
Earlier, Moses had defeated the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon. Moses had also defeated King Og of Bashan, who used to live in Ashtaroth for part of the year and in Edrei for the rest of the year.
Although it takes only eleven days to walk from Mount Sinait to Kadesh-Barnea by way of the Mount Seir Road, these speeches were not made until 40 years after Israel left Egypt.t

The First Speech: //Moses Reviews the Past

The [Lord]'s Command //at Mount Sinai

6 People of Israel, when we were in our camp at Mount Sinai, t the [Lord] our God told us:
You have stayed here long enough. 7 Leave this place and go into the land that belongs to the Amorites and their neighbors the Canaanites. This land includes the Jordan River valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Southern Desert, the Mediterranean seacoast, the Lebanon Mountains, and all the territory as far as the Euphrates River.

8 I give you this land, just as I promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now you must go and take the land.

Leaders Were Appointed

(Exodus 18.13-27)

Moses said:

9 Right after the [Lord] commanded us to leave Mount Sinai, t I told you:
Israel, being your leader is too big a job for one person. 10 The [Lord] our God has blessed us, and so now there are as many of us as there are stars in the sky. 11 God has even promised to bless us a thousand times more, and I pray that he will. 12 But I cannot take care of all your problems and settle all your arguments alone.

13 Each tribe must choose some experienced men who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will make those men the official leaders of their tribes.
14 You answered, “That's a good idea!” 15 Then I took these men, who were already wise and respected leaders, and I appointed them as your official leaders. Some of them became military officers in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10,

16 and others became judges. I gave these judges the following instructions:
When you settle legal cases, your decisions must be fair. It doesn't matter if the case is between two Israelites, or between an Israelite and a foreigner living in your community.

17 And it doesn't matter if one is helpless and the other is powerful. Don't be afraid of anyone! No matter who shows up in your court, God will help you make a fair decision.
If any case is too hard for you, bring the people to me, and I will make the decision.

18 After I gave these instructions to the judges, I taught you the [Lord]'s commands.

Men Were Sent //To Explore //the Hill Country

(Numbers 13.1-33)

Moses said to Israel:

20-21 and I told you, “We have reached the hill country. It belongs to the Amorites now, but the [Lord] our God is giving it to us. He is the same God our ancestors worshiped, and he has told us to go in and take this land, so don't hesitate and be afraid.”

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Before we go into the land, let's send some men to explore it. When they come back, they can tell us about the towns we will find and what roads we should take to get there.”
23 It seemed like a good idea, so I chose twelve men, one from each tribe. 24 They explored the hill country as far as Bunch Valleyt

25 and even brought back some of the fruit. They said, “The [Lord] our God is giving us good land.”

Israel Refused //To Obey the [Lord]

(Numbers 14.1-45)

Moses said to Israel:

28 We are afraid, because the men who explored the land told us that the cities are large, with walls that reach to the sky. The people who live there are taller and stronger than we are, t and some of them are Anakim.t We have nowhere to go.”
29 Then I said, “Don't worry! 30 The [Lord] our God will lead the way. He will fight on our side, just as he did when we saw him do all those things to the Egyptians.

31 t And you know that the [Lord] has taken care of us the whole time we've been in the desert, just as you might carry one of your children.”
32  t But you still would not trust the [Lord],

33 even though he had always been with us in the desert. During the daytime, the [Lord] was in the cloud, leading us in the right direction and showing us where to camp. And at night, he was there in the fire.t

34  t You had made the [Lord] angry, and he said:
35 You people of this generation are evil, and I refuse to let you go into the good land that I promised your ancestors.

36 Caleb son of Jephunneh is the only one of your generation that I will allow to go in. He obeyed me completely, so I will give him and his descendants the land he explored.
37 The [Lord] was even angry with me because of you people, and he said, “Moses, I won't let you go into the land either.

38 Instead, I will let Joshuat your assistant lead Israel to conquer the land. So encourage him.”

39 Then the [Lord] spoke to you again:
People of Israel, you said that your innocent young children would be taken prisoner in the battle for the land. But someday I will let them go into the land, and with my help they will conquer it and live there.

40 Now, turn around and go back into the desert by way of Red Seat Road.

41 Then you told me, “We disobeyed the [Lord] our God, but now we want to obey him. We will go into the hill country and fight, just as he told us to do.” So you picked up your weapons, thinking it would be easy to take over the hill country.

42 But the [Lord] said, “Moses, warn them not to go into the hill country. I won't help them fight, and their enemies will defeat them.”
43 I told you what the [Lord] had said, but you paid no attention. You disobeyed him and went into the hill country anyway. You thought you were so great! 44 But when the Amorites in the hill country attacked from their towns, you ran from them as you would run from a swarm of bees. The Amorites chased your troops into Seirt as far as Hormah, killing them as they went.

45 Then you came back to the place of worship at Kadesh-Barnea and wept, but the [Lord] would not listen to your prayers.

Israel Spent Years //in the Desert

Moses said to Israel: