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

The Covenant Setting

1 This is whatt Moses said to the assembly of Israelt in the Transjordaniant wastelands, the arid country oppositet Suph,s betweent Parans and Tophel,s Laban,s Hazeroth,s and Di Zahabs2 Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journeys from Horebs to Kadesh Barneas by way of Mount Seir.s3 However, it was not untilt the first day of the eleventh months of the fortieth years that Moses addressed the Israelites just ast the Lord had instructed him to do.4 This took place after the defeatt of King Sihons of the Amorites, whose capital wast in Heshbon,s and King Og of Bashan, whose capital wast in Ashtaroth,s specifically in Edrei.s

5 So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words:t

Events at Horeb

6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb and said, “You have stayedt in the area of this mountain long enough.7 Get up now,t resume your journey, heading fort the Amorite hill country, to all its areast including the arid country,t the highlands, the Shephelah,ts the Negev,s and the coastal plain – all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates.8 Look! I have already given the land to you.t Go, occupy the territory that I,t the Lord, promisedt to give to your ancestorst Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.”t9 I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself.10 The Lord your God has increased your populationt to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky.t11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing yout just as he said he would!12 But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife?13 Select wise and practicalt men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.”14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good.15 So I choset as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials.16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that theyt should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizenst and judge fairly,t whether between one citizen and anothert or a citizen and a resident foreigner.t

17 Theyt must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowlyt and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

Instructions at Kadesh Barnea

18 So I instructed you at that time regarding everything you should do.19 Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea.20 Then I said to you, “You have come to the Amorite hill country which the Lord our God is about to givet us.21 Look, het has placed the land in front of you!t Go up, take possession of it, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”22 So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.”23 I thought this was a good idea,t so I sentt twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.24 They left and went up to the hill country, coming to the Eshcol Valley,ts which they scouted out.

25 Then they tookt some of the produce of the land and carried it back down to us. They also brought a report to us, saying, “The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.”

Disobedience at Kadesh Barnea

26 You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God.t27 You complained among yourselves privatelyt and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us!28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our couraget by describing people who are more numeroust and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heavent itself! Moreover, they said they sawt Anakitests there.”29 So I responded to you, “Do not be terrifiedt of them!30 The Lord your God is about to got ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egyptt31 and in the desert, where you saw himt carrying you along like a man carries his son. This he did everywhere you went until you came to this very place.”32 However, through all this you did not have confidence in the Lord your God,

33 the one who was constantly going before you to find places for you to set up camp. He appeared by fire at night and cloud by day, to show you the way you ought to go.

Judgment at Kadesh Barnea

34 When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow:t35 “Not a single persont of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors!36 The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh;s he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me.”t37 As for me, the Lord was also angry with me on your account. He said, “You also will not be able to go there.38 However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant,t will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land.t39 Also, your infants, who you thought would die on the way,t and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad,s will go there; I will give them the land and they will possess it.

40 But as for you,t turn back and head for the desert by the way to the Red Sea.”t

Unsuccessful Conquest of Canaan

41 Then you responded to me and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will now go up and fight as the Lord our God has told us to do.” So you each put on your battle gear and prepared to go up to the hill country.42 But the Lord told me: “Tell them this: ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you and you will be defeated by your enemies.’”43 I spoke to you, but you did not listen. Instead you rebelled against the Lordt and recklessly went up to the hill country.44 The Amorite inhabitants of that areat confrontedt you and chased you like a swarm of bees, striking you down from Seir as far as Hormah.s45 Then you came back and wept before the Lord, but het paid no attention to you whatsoever.t

46 Therefore, you remained at Kadesh for a long time – indeed, for the full time.t