Deuteronomy 1

Moses Speaks to the People 40 Years After Leaving Egypt

1 This is the speech Moses gave in the desert east of the Jordan River, on the plains, near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and near Laban, Hazeroth, and Di Zahab. He spoke to all the Israelites.

2 (It takes 11 days to go from Mount Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir.)
3 On the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year after they had left Egypt, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them.4 This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth andt in Edrei.

5 The Israelites were east of the Jordan River in Moab when Moses began to review God’s teachings.
This is what he said:

Moses Reminds Israel of the Events at Mount Horeb

6 At Mount Horeb the Lord our God said to us, “You have stayed at this mountain long enough.7 Break camp, and get ready! Go to the mountain region of the Amorites, and go to everyone living on the plains, in the mountains, in the foothills, in the Negev, on the whole Mediterranean coast (the land of the Canaanites), and into Lebanon as far as the Euphrates River.

8 I’m giving you this land. Enter, and take possession of the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to you, their descendants.”
9 At that time I said to you, “I’m not able to take care of you by myself.10 The Lord your God has made your population increase so that you are now as numerous as the stars in the sky.11 May the Lord God of your ancestors make you a thousand times more numerous, and may he bless you as he has promised.12 How can I take care of your problems, your troubles, and your disagreements all by myself?

13 From each of your tribes, choose some men who are wise, intelligent, and experienced, and I’ll appoint them to be your leaders.”
14 You agreed that this was a good idea.15 So I took the heads of your tribes who were wise and experienced men and made them officers for each of your tribes. I put them in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10 people.16 Also at that time I gave these instructions to your judges: “Hear the cases that your people bring. Judge each case fairly, no matter whether it is a dispute between two Israelites or a dispute between an Israelite and a non-Israelite.17 Be impartial in your decisions. Listen to the least important people the same way you listen to the most important people. Never be afraid of anyone, since your decisions come from God. You may bring me any case that’s too hard for you, and I will hear it.”

18 So I told you how to handle these situations.

Moses Reminds Israel of the Events at Kadesh Barnea

19 So we left Mount Horeb, as the Lord our God had commanded. We traveled through all that vast and dangerous desert you saw on the way to the mountain region of the Amorites. At last we came to Kadesh Barnea.20 Then I said to you, “We have come to the mountain region of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.

21 The Lord your God is giving you this land. Go ahead! Take possession of it, as the Lord God of your ancestors told you. Don’t be afraid or terrified.”
22 All of you came to me and said, “Let’s send men ahead of us to gather information about the land for us. Have them report to us about the route we should take and the cities we’ll come to.”23 It seemed like a good idea to me. So I chose 12 of your men, one from each tribe.24 They left and went into the mountains. When they came to the Eshcol Valley, they explored it.

25 They took some of the region’s fruit with them and brought it back to us. They reported, “The land that the Lord our God is giving us is good.”
26 But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go.27 You complained in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us! That’s why he brought us out of Egypt. He wanted to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us!

28 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.’ ”
29 Then I said to you, “Don’t tremble. Don’t be afraid of them.30 The Lord your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight for you as you saw him fight for you in Egypt

31 and in the desert.” There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as parents carry their children. He carried you wherever you went until you came to this place.
32 In spite of this, you didn’t trust the Lord your God,

33 who went ahead of you to find places for you to camp. He appeared in a column of fire at night and in a column of smoke during the day to show you which route to take.
34 When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and took this oath:35 “Not one of these evil people will ever see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,

36 except Caleb, son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give the land that he set his feet on to him and his descendants, because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord.”
37 The Lord became angry with me because of you. He said, “You won’t go there either.38 But your assistant Joshua, son of Nun, will go there. Encourage him, because he will help Israel take possession of the land.39 Although you thought the little children would be captured in war, your children, who are still too young to know the difference between good and evil, will enter that land. I will give it to them, and they will take possession of it.

40 Turn around, go back into the desert, and follow the road that goes to the Red Sea.”
41 You responded, “We have sinned against the Lord. We’ll go and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us to do.” Each of you armed yourself for war, thinking you could easily invade the mountain region.42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go and fight, because I won’t be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’ ”43 I told you, but you wouldn’t listen. You defied the Lord’s command and invaded the mountain region.44 The Amorites who lived there came out and attacked you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They defeated you, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah.45 When you came back, you cried to the Lord, but the Lord didn’t listen to you or hear you.

46 That’s why you stayed in Kadesh as long as you did.

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