Deuteronomy 1
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
These are the words which Moses spoke to all of Israel, across the Jordan, in the plain of the wilderness opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth, where gold is very plentiful,
2 It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.
eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir as far as Kadesh-barnea.
3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them.
In the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses told the sons of Israel all that the Lord had instructed him. And so he spoke to them,
4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and then at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.
after he had struck down Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who resided at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
5 On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:
across the Jordan in the land of Moab. And so, Moses began to explain the law, and to say:
6 The LORD our God said to us at Horeb: “You have stayed at this mountain long enough.
“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying: ‘You have remained long enough on this mountain.
7 Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the foothills, in the Negev, and along the seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.
Turn back and go to the mountain of the Amorites, and to the other places which are near it: the plains as well as the mountainous regions, and the low-lying places opposite the south and along the shore of the sea, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates.’
8 See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.”
‘Lo,’ he said, ‘I have delivered it to you. Enter and possess that which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their offspring after them.’
9 At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry the burden for you alone.
And I said to you, at that time:
10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
‘I alone am not able to sustain you. For the Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and you are today like the stars of heaven, very many.
11 May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He has promised.
May the Lord, the God of your fathers, add to this number many thousands more, and may he bless you, just as he has said.
12 But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself?
Alone, I do not have the strength to endure your arbitrations and judgments and disputes.
13 Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”
Offer, from among you, wise and experienced men, those whose conversation has been proven within your tribes, so that I may appoint them as your rulers.’
14 And you answered me and said, “What you propose to do is good.”
Then you responded to me: ‘What you intend to do is a good thing.’
15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.
And so, I took from your tribes men, wise and noble, and I appointed them as rulers, as tribunes and centurions, and as leaders over fifty and over ten, who would teach you each thing.
16 At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident.
And I instructed them, saying: ‘Listen to them, and judge what is just, whether he is one of your citizens or a sojourner.
17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
There shall be no favoritism to any persons. So you shall listen to the little as well as to the great. And you shall not accept anyone’s reputation, for this is the judgment of God. But if anything seems difficult to you, then refer it to me, and I will hear it.’
18 And at that time I commanded you all the things you were to do.
And I instructed you in all that you were obliged to do.
19 And just as the LORD our God had commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites, through all the vast and terrifying wilderness you have seen. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,
Then, setting out from Horeb, we crossed through a terrible and great wasteland, which you saw along the way of the mountain of the Amorite, just as the Lord our God had instructed us. And when we had arrived at Kadesh-barnea,
20 I said: “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.
I said to you: ‘You have arrived at the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God will give to us.
21 See, the LORD your God has placed the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Gaze upon the land that the Lord your God gives to you. Ascend and possess it, just as the Lord our God has spoken to your fathers. Do not be afraid, and do not become terrified by anything.’
22 Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us to search out the land and bring us word of what route to follow and which cities to enter.”
And you all approached me and said: ‘Let us send men who may consider the land, and who may report as to the way by which we ought to ascend, and as to which cities we ought to travel.’
23 The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.
And since the word was pleasing to me, I sent from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.
24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied out the land.
These, when they had set out and had ascended the mountains, arrived as far as the valley of the cluster of grapes. And having considered the land,
25 They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us word: “It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.”
having taken from its fruits in order to show its fertility, they brought these to us, and they said: ‘The land that the Lord our God will give to us is good.’
26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.
Yet you were not willing to go there. Instead, being incredulous to the word of the Lord our God,
27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be annihilated.
you murmured in your tents, and you said: ‘The Lord hates us, and therefore he has led us away from the land of Egypt, so that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite and destroy us.
28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”
To where should we ascend? The messengers have terrified our heart by saying: “The multitude is very great, and taller than us. And the cities are great, and the walls extend even to the sky. We have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’
29 So I said to you: “Do not be terrified or afraid of them!
And I said to you: ‘Do not be apprehensive, nor should you fear them.
30 The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt
The Lord God himself, who is your leader, will fight on your behalf, just as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.
31 and in the wilderness, where the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place.”
And in the wilderness (as you yourselves saw), the Lord your God carried you, like a man who is accustomed to carrying his little son, along all the way that you walked, until you arrived at this place.’
32 But in spite of all this, you did not trust the LORD your God,
And yet, despite all of this, you did not believe the Lord your God,
33 who went before you on the journey, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, to seek out a place for you to camp and to show you the road to travel.
who went before you on the way, and who marked out the place where you should pitch your tents, showing you the way by fire in the night, and by a pillar of cloud in the day.
34 When the LORD heard your words, He grew angry and swore an oath, saying,
And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, becoming angry, he swore and said:
35 “Not one of the men of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your fathers,
‘None of the men of this wicked generation will see the good land, which I have promised by oath to your fathers,
36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”
except Caleb the son of Jephuneh. For he himself will see it, and I will give the land on which he has walked to him and to his sons, because he has followed the Lord.’
37 The LORD was also angry with me on your account, and He said, “Not even you shall enter the land.
Neither is his indignation with the people a wonder, since the Lord also became angry with me because of you, and so he said: ‘Neither will you enter into that place.
38 Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit the land.
But Joshua, the son of Nun, your minister, shall himself enter on your behalf. Exhort and strengthen this man, and he himself shall divide the land by lot to Israel.
39 And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.
Your little ones, about whom you said that they would be led away as captives, and your sons, who to this day are ignorant of the difference between good and evil, they shall enter. And I will give the land to them, and they will possess it.
40 But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”
But as for you, turn back and go out to the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.’
41 “We have sinned against the LORD,” you replied. “We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God has commanded us.” Then each of you put on his weapons of war, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.
And you responded to me: ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will ascend and fight, just as the Lord our God has instructed.’ And having been equipped with weapons, when you were setting out for the mountain,
42 But the LORD said to me, “Tell them not to go up and fight, for I am not with you to keep you from defeat by your enemies.”
the Lord said to me: ‘Say to them: Do not ascend and do not fight. For I am not with you. Otherwise, you may fall in the sight of your enemies.’
43 So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
I spoke, and you did not listen. But, opposing the order of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you ascended onto the mountain.
44 Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
And so, having gone forth, the Amorite, who was living in the mountains, came against you and pursued you, just as a swarm of bees would do. And he struck you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.
45 And you returned and wept before the LORD, but He would not listen to your voice or give ear to you.
And when you returned and were weeping in the sight of the Lord, he would not hear you, nor was he willing to agree to your voice.
46 For this reason you stayed in Kadesh for a long time—a very long time.
Therefore, you camped at Kadesh-barnea for a long time.”
