Deuteronomy 1
1 THESE ARE the words which Moses spoke to all Israel [still] on the [east] side of the Jordan [River] in the wilderness, in the Arabah [the deep valley running north and south from the eastern arm of the Red Sea to beyond the Dead Sea], over near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.2 It is [only] eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea [on Canaan’s border; yet Israel took forty years to get beyond it].3 And in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them,4 After He had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth [and] Edrei.5 Beyond (east of) the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying,6 The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have dwelt long enough on this mountain.7 Turn and take up your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South (the Negeb), and on the coast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.8 Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.9 I said to you at that time, I am not able to bear you alone.10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of the heavens for multitude.11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you as He has promised you!12 How can I bear alone the weariness and pressure and burden of you and your strife?13 Choose wise, understanding, experienced, and respected men according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.14 And you answered me, The thing which you have spoken is good for us to do.15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise, experienced, and respected men, and made them heads over you, commanders of thousands, and hundreds, and fifties, and tens, and officers according to your tribes.16 And I charged your judges at that time: Hear the cases between your brethren and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger or sojourner who is with him.17 You shall not be partial in judgment; but you shall hear the small as well as the great. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.19 And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us, and we came to Kadesh-barnea.20 And I said to you, You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God gives us.21 Behold, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you. Fear not, neither be dismayed.22 Then you all came near to me and said, Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us and bring us word again by what way we should go up and the cities into which we shall come.23 The thing pleased me well, and I took twelve men of you, one for each tribe.24 And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out.25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God gives us.26 Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God.27 You were peevish and discontented in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, He brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.28 To what are we going up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, The people are bigger and taller than we are; the cities are great and fortified to the heavens. And moreover we have seen the [giantlike] sons of the Anakim there.29 Then I said to you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.30 The Lord your God Who goes before you, He will fight for you just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,31 And in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God bore you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.32 Yet in spite of this word you did not believe (trust, rely on, and remain steadfast to) the Lord your God,33 Who went in the way before you to search out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.34 And the Lord heard your words, and was angered and He swore,35 Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land which I swore to give to your fathers,36 Except [Joshua, of course, and] Caleb son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land upon which he has walked, because he has wholly followed the Lord.37 The Lord was angry with me also for your sakes, and said, You also shall not enter Canaan.38 But Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.39 Moreover, your little ones whom you said would become a prey, and your children who at this time cannot discern between good and evil, they shall enter Canaan, and to them I will give it and they shall possess it.40 But as for you, turn and journey into the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.41 Then you said to me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us. And you girded on every man his battle weapons, and thought it a simple matter to go up into the hill country.42 And the Lord said to me, Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not among you--lest you be dangerously hurt by your enemies.43 So I spoke to you, and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and were presumptuous and went up into the hill country.44 Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and struck you down in Seir as far as Hormah.45 And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not heed your voice or listen to you.46 So you remained in Kadesh; many days you remained there.
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.