Deuteronomy 1

1-2 These are the sermons Moses preached to all Israel when they were east of the Jordan River in the Arabah Wilderness, opposite Suph, in the vicinity of Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It takes eleven days to travel from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea following the Mount Seir route.

3-4  It was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year when Moses addressed the People of Israel, telling them everything God had commanded him concerning them. This came after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who ruled from Ashtaroth in Edrei. It was east of the Jordan in the land of Moab that Moses set out to explain this Revelation.

Moses Preaches to Israel on the Plains of Moab

5 He said:

6-8  Back at Horeb, God, our God, spoke to us: "You've stayed long enough at this mountain. On your way now. Get moving. Head for the Amorite hills, wherever people are living in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negev, the seashore—the Canaanite country and the Lebanon all the way to the big river, the Euphrates. Look, I've given you this land. Now go in and take it. It's the land God promised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their children after them."

9-13  At the time I told you, "I can't do this, can't carry you all by myself. God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you—you rival the stars in the sky! And may God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised. But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels? So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders."

14  You answered me, "Good! A good solution."

15  So I went ahead and took the top men of your tribes, wise and seasoned, and made them your leaders—leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of your tribes.

16-17  At the same time I gave orders to your judges: "Listen carefully to complaints and accusations between your fellow Israelites. Judge fairly between each person and his fellow or foreigner. Don't play favorites; treat the little and the big alike; listen carefully to each. Don't be impressed by big names. This is God's judgment you're dealing with. Hard cases you can bring to me; I'll deal with them."

18  I issued orders to you at that time regarding everything you would have to deal with.

19-21  Then we set out from Horeb and headed for the Amorite hill country, going through that huge and frightening wilderness that you've had more than an eyeful of by now—all under the command of God, our God—and finally arrived at Kadesh Barnea. There I told you, "You've made it to the Amorite hill country that God, our God, is giving us. Look, God, your God, has placed this land as a gift before you. Go ahead and take it now. God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, promised it to you. Don't be afraid. Don't lose heart."

22  But then you all came to me and said, "Let's send some men on ahead to scout out the land for us and bring back a report on the best route to take and the kinds of towns we can expect to find."

23-25  That seemed like a good idea to me, so I picked twelve men, one from each tribe. They set out, climbing through the hills. They came to the Eshcol Valley and looked it over. They took samples of the produce of the land and brought them back to us, saying, "It's a good land that God, our God, is giving us!"

26-28  But then you weren't willing to go up. You rebelled against God, your God's plain word. You complained in your tents: "God hates us. He hauled us out of Egypt in order to dump us among the Amorites—a death sentence for sure! How can we go up? We're trapped in a dead end. Our brothers took all the wind out of our sails, telling us, 'The people are bigger and stronger than we are; their cities are huge, their defenses massive—we even saw Anakite giants there!'"

29-33  I tried to relieve your fears: "Don't be terrified of them. God, your God, is leading the way; he's fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you're here, you won't trust God, your God—this same God who goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go."

34-36  When God heard what you said, he exploded in anger. He swore, "Not a single person of this evil generation is going to get so much as a look at the good land that I promised to give to your parents. Not one—except for Caleb son of Jephunneh. He'll see it. I'll give him and his descendants the land he walked on because he was all for following God, heart and soul."

37-40  But I also got it. Because of you God's anger spilled over onto me. He said, "You aren't getting in either. Your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will go in. Build up his courage. He's the one who will claim the inheritance for Israel. And your babies of whom you said, 'They'll be grabbed for plunder,' and all these little kids who right now don't even know right from wrong—they'll get in. I'll give it to them. Yes, they'll be the new owners. But not you. Turn around and head back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea."

41  You spoke up, "We've sinned against God. We'll go up and fight, following all the orders that God, our God, has commanded." You took your weapons and dressed for battle—you thought it would be so easy going into those hills!

42  But God told me, "Tell them, 'Don't do it; don't go up to fight—I'm not with you in this. Your enemies will waste you.'"

43-46  I told you but you wouldn't listen. You rebelled at the plain word of God. You threw out your chests and strutted into the hills. And those Amorites, who had lived in those hills all their lives, swarmed all over you like a hive of bees, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah, a stinging defeat. You came back and wept in the presence of God, but he didn't pay a bit of attention to you; God didn't give you the time of day. You stayed there in Kadesh a long time, about as long as you had stayed there earlier.

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