Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words which Moses said to all Israel on the far side of Jordan, in the waste land in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran on the one side, and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other.

THESE be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

(There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.)

3 Now in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses gave to the children of Israel all the orders which the Lord had given him for them;

And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them;

4 After he had overcome Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, ruling in Ashtaroth, at Edrei:

After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:

5 On the far side of Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses gave the people this law, saying,

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

6 The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have been long enough in this mountain:

The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:

7 Make a move now, and go on your way into the hill-country of the Amorites and the places near it, in the Arabah and the hill-country and in the lowlands and in the South and by the seaside, all the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

8 See, all the land is before you: go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them.

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

9 At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself;

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

10 The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number.

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, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said!

(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 How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments?

How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

13 Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

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

14 And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say.

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

15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes.

So I took the chief 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 And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him.

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 In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.

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 it unto me, and I will hear it.

18 And at that time I gave you all the orders which you were to do.

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

19 Then we went on from Horeb, through all that great and cruel waste which you saw, on our way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the Lord gave us orders; and we came to 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 Kadesh-barnea.

20 And I said to you, You have come to the hill-country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.

And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.

21 See now, the Lord your God has put the land into your hands: go up and take it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you; have no fear and do not be troubled.

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 unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

22 And you came near to me, every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us to go through the land with care and give us an account of the way we are to go and the towns to which we will come.

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

23 And what you said seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from among you, one from every tribe;

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

24 And they went up into the hill-country and came to the valley of Eshcol, and saw what was there.

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

25 And taking in their hands some of the fruit of the land, they came down again to us, and gave us their account, saying, It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.

And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.

26 But going against the order of the Lord your God, you would not go up:

Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God:

27 And you made an angry outcry in your tents, and said, In his hate for us the Lord has taken us out of the land of Egypt, to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction.

And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts feeble with fear by saying, The people are greater and taller than we are, and the towns are great and walled up to heaven; and more than this, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.

Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is 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 Then I said to you, Have no fear of them.

Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

30 The Lord your God who goes before you will be fighting for you, and will do such wonders as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

The Lord your God which 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 waste land, where you have seen how the Lord was supporting you, as a man does his son, in all your journeying till you came to this place.

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

32 But for all this, you had no faith in the Lord your God,

Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God,

33 Who goes before you on your way, looking for a place where you may put up your tents, in fire by night, lighting up the way you are to go, and in a cloud by day.

Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34 And the Lord, hearing your words, was angry, and said with an oath,

And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

35 Truly, not one of this evil generation will see that good land which I said I would give to your fathers,

Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

36 But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart.

Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.

37 And, in addition, the Lord was angry with me because of you, saying, You yourself will not go into it:

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

38 Joshua, the son of Nun, your servant, he will go into the land: say to him that he is to be strong, for he will be Israel's guide into their heritage.

But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39 And your little ones, who, you said, would come into strange hands, your children, who now have no knowledge of good or evil, they will go into that land, and to them I will give it and it will be theirs.

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 thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40 But as for you, go back, journeying into the waste land by the way of the Red Sea.

But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

41 Then you said to me, We have done evil against the Lord, we will go up to the attack, as the Lord our God has given us orders. And arming yourselves every one, you made ready to go up without care into the hill-country.

Then ye answered and said unto 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 into the hill.

42 And the Lord said to me, Say to them, Do not go up to the attack; for I am not among you, and you will be overcome by those who are against you.

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

43 This I said to you, but you gave no attention and went against the orders of the Lord, and in your pride went up into the hill-country.

So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

44 And the Amorites who were in the hill-country came out against you and put you to flight, rushing after you like bees, and overcame you in Seir, driving you even as far as Hormah.

And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

45 And you came back, weeping before the Lord; but the Lord gave no attention to your cries and did not give ear to you.

And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

46 So you were kept waiting in Kadesh for a long time.

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