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 Israel on the east side of Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Zuph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

2 It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.

( There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Kadeshbarnea.)

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.

And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment 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 slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:

5 On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:

On the east side of Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

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 in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:

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, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and to all the places near to it, in the plain, on the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and to Lebanon, to the great river, the 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.”

Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them.

9 At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry the burden for you alone.

And I spoke to you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:

10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

11 May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He has promised.

(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)

12 But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself?

How can I alone bear your weight, and your burden, and your strife?

13 Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”

Take for yourselves wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

14 And you answered me and said, “What you propose to do is good.”

And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.

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.

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

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 charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

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.”

Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.

18 And at that time I commanded you all the things you were to do.

And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should 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,

And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.

20 I said: “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.

And I said to you, Ye have come to the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth 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.”

Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said to thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

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 ye came near to me each one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land for us, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.

23 The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:

24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied out the land.

And they turned and went up to the mountain, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.

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.”

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 doth give us.

26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.

However ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your 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.

And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth from the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to 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.’”

Where can we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

29 So I said to you: “Do not be terrified or afraid of them!

Then I said to you, Dread not, neither be afraid of 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 your God who goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

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, where thou hast seen how the LORD thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

32 But in spite of all this, you did not trust the LORD your God,

Yet in this thing ye 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 in the way before you, to search out for you a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34 When the LORD heard your words, He grew angry and swore an oath, saying,

And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying,

35 “Not one of the men of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your fathers,

Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I swore to give 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 Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath walked upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.

37 The LORD was also angry with me on your account, and He said, “Not even you shall enter the land.

Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in there.

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, who standeth before thee, he shall go in there: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

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.

Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall 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, and take your journey into the wilderness by the 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.

Then ye answered and said to me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up to the hill.

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.”

And the LORD said to me, Say to them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before 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.

So I spoke to you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up to the hill.

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 the Amorites, who dwelt on that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even 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 ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear to you.

46 For this reason you stayed in Kadesh for a long time—a very long time.

So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according to the days that ye abode there.