Deuteronomy 1

1 This is the record of what Moses told all the Israelites during their time in the desert to the east of the Jordan. They were in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran on the one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

These [are] the words which Moses has spoken to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-Zahab.

2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the road that passes Mount Seir.)

[It takes] eleven days [to go] from Horeb, the way of Mount Seir, to Kadesh-Barnea.

3 On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moses recounted to the Israelites everything that the Lord had instructed him to tell them.

And it comes to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses has spoken to the sons of Israel according to all that YHWH has commanded him concerning them,

4 This happened after he defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and then at Edrei after he defeated Og king of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

after his striking Sihon king of the Amorite who is dwelling in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan who is dwelling in Ashtaroth in Edrei.

5 Speaking on the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain these instructions, saying:

Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses has begun to explain this law, saying,

6 The Lord our God told us at Horeb: “You have remained here beside this mountain for long enough.

“Our God YHWH has spoken to us in Horeb, saying, For you dwell at this mountain long enough;

7 Continue your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and all their neighbors, into the Jordan Valley, into the hill country, into the foothills, into the Negev, and along the coast to the country of the Canaanites up to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.

turn and journey for yourselves, and go to the mountain of the Amorite, and to all its neighboring places in the plain, in the hill-country, and in the low country, and in the south, and in the haven of the sea, the land of the Canaanite, and of Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates River;

8 Look, I'm giving this land to you. Go and take ownership of the land that the Lord promised he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants who would follow them.”

see, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which YHWH has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them.

9 That's when I told you, “I can't take responsibility for all of you by myself.

And I speak to you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you by myself;

10 The Lord your God has increased your numbers so much that today there are as many of you as there are stars in the sky.

your God YHWH has multiplied you, and behold, today you [are] as the stars of the heavens for multitude;

11 May the Lord, the God of your forefathers, multiply you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised.

YHWH, God of your fathers, is adding to you, as you [are], one thousand times, and blesses you as He has spoken to you.

12 But how can I take on all your troubles, burdens, and arguments just by myself?

How do I bear your pressure, and your burden, and your strife by myself?

13 You must choose for yourselves wise, experienced men with good judgment from each of your tribes, and I will put them in charge as your leaders.”

Provide wise and understanding men for yourselves that are known to your tribes, and I set them for your heads;

14 You replied to me, saying, “Your proposal is a good one.”

and you answer me and say, The thing which you have spoken [is] good to do.

15 So I summoned your tribal leaders, men with good judgment, and put them in charge of you, as commanders and officials for your tribes. Some were responsible for thousands, some for hundreds, some for fifties, and some for tens.

And I take the heads of your tribes, wise men that are known, and I appoint them [as] heads over you, princes of thousands, and princes of hundreds, and princes of fifties, and princes of tens, and authorities for your tribes.

16 At the same time I gave strict instructions to your judges: “Hear the cases brought between your brothers, and make sure you are fair when you judge between a man and his brother or a foreigner living among you.

And I command your judges at that time, saying, Listen between your brothers—then you have judged [in] righteousness between a man, and his brother, and his sojourner;

17 Don't show any favoritism when you judge—treat the powerful and the common people just the same. Don't let anyone intimidate you, because judgment is done on God's behalf. Bring me any case that is too hard for you, and I will hear it.”

you do not discern faces in judgment; you hear the little as well as the great; you are not afraid of the face of any, for the judgment is God’s, and the thing which is too hard for you, you bring near to me, and I have heard it.

18 This was also the time I instructed you about everything you had to do.

And I command you at that time all the things which you do.

19 Following the orders of the Lord our God, we left Horeb and set off towards the hill country of the Amorites, passing through the whole of the large and terrifying desert that you yourselves have experienced. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,

And we journey from Horeb, and go [through] all that great and fearful wilderness which you have seen, the way of the hill-country of the Amorite, as our God YHWH has commanded us, and we come to Kadesh-Barnea.

20 I explained to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving to us.

And I say to you, You have come to the hill-country of the Amorite, which our God YHWH is giving to us;

21 Look, the Lord your God has given you the land! Go and take ownership of the land as the Lord, the God of your forefathers, has told you. Don't be frightened or terrified.”

see, your God YHWH has set the land before you; go up, possess, as YHWH, God of your fathers, has spoken to you; do not fear, nor be frightened.

22 Then you all came to me and suggested, “Let's send men on ahead to explore the land and report back to us about what route to take and which towns we'll come across.”

And you come near to me, all of you, and say, Let us send men before us, and they search the land for us, and they bring us back word [concerning] the way in which we go up into it, and the cities to which we come in;

23 It seemed like a good plan to me, so I chose twelve of your men, one from each tribe.

and the thing is good in my eyes, and I take twelve men from you, one man for the tribe.

24 They set off and went up into the hill country as far as the Valley of Eshcol, exploring the land.

And they turn and go up to the hill-country, and come to the Valley of Eshcol, and spy it out,

25 They brought back some of the country's fruit, carrying it down to us, and gave us the report: “The Lord our God is giving us good land.”

and they take in their hand from the fruit of the land, and bring [it] down to us, and bring us back word, and say, The land is good which our God YHWH is giving to us.

26 But you didn't want to go. You rebelled against the instructions of the Lord your God.

And you have not been willing to go up, and you provoke the mouth of your God YHWH,

27 You complained while you were in your tents and said, “It's because the Lord hates us that he led us out of Egypt in order to hand us over to the Amorites to be wiped out.

and murmur in your tents, and say, In YHWH’s hating us He has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorite—to destroy us;

28 Where are we going? Our brothers terrified us because they told us: ‘The people are bigger and taller than us; the towns are large, with high walls that reach the sky. We even saw the descendants of the giant Anak there!’”

to where are we going up? Our brothers have melted our heart, saying, [The] people [are] greater and taller than we; [the] cities [are] great and fortified up to the heavens, and we have also seen sons of Anakim there.

29 So I told you, “Don't be frightened or scared of them!

And I say to you, Do not be terrified, nor be afraid of them;

30 The Lord your God who leads your way will fight for you in the same way you saw him do for you in Egypt.

your God YHWH, who is going before you—He fights for you, according to all that He has done with you in Egypt before your eyes,

31 He did the same in the desert—you saw how the Lord your God carried you like a father carries his son during your whole journey until you arrived here.”

and in the wilderness where you have seen that your God YHWH has carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have gone until your coming to this place.

32 Despite all this, you didn't trust the Lord your God,

And in this thing you are not steadfast in your God YHWH,

33 who led you on the journey, present in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, looking to find a place for you to camp and to show you the way to go.

who is going before you in the way to search out for you a place for your encamping, in fire by night, to show you in the way in which you go, and in a cloud by day.

34 When the Lord heard what you were saying, he got angry and swore an oath:

And YHWH hears the voice of your words, and is angry, and swears, saying,

35 “Not a single one of this evil generation will see the good land I promised to give your forefathers,

Not one of these men of this evil generation sees the good land which I have sworn 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 he explored, because he was completely committed to the Lord.”

except Caleb son of Jephunneh—he sees it, and to him I give the land on which he has trodden, and to his sons, because that he has been fully after YHWH.

37 The Lord also got angry with me because of you. He told me, “Even you won't enter the country.

Moreover, YHWH has been angry with me for your sake, saying, Indeed, you do not go in there;

38 However, Joshua, son of Nun, your assistant, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will help Israel to occupy the land.

Joshua son of Nun, who is standing before you, he goes in there; strengthen him, for he causes Israel to inherit [it].

39 Your small children that you claimed would become prisoners, your children who at the time didn't know good from evil, they will be the ones to enter the land that I will give them, and they will occupy it.

And your infants, of whom you have said, They are for a prey, and your sons who today have not known good and evil, they go in there, and I give it to them, and they possess it;

40 But now turn around and head back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea.”

but you, turn and journey for yourselves toward the wilderness, the way of the Red Sea.

41 But you answered and told me, “We have sinned against the Lord! We will go and we will fight and we will do everything the Lord our God has ordered us to do.” Then you all picked up your weapons and prepared for battle thinking it would be easy to go and fight in the hill country.

And you answer and say to me, We have sinned against YHWH; we go up and we have fought, according to all that which our God YHWH has commanded us; and you each gird on his weapons of war, and you are ready to go up into the hill-country;

42 But the Lord instructed me, “Order them not to go and fight because I won't be with you to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.”

and YHWH says to me, Say to them, You do not go up, nor fight, for I am not in your midst, and you are not struck before your enemies.

43 I told you this, but you refused to listen. You defied the instructions of the Lord and arrogantly went to fight in the hill country.

And I speak to you, and you have not listened, and provoke the mouth of YHWH, and act proudly, and go up into the hill-country;

44 Then the Amorites living there in the hills came and attacked you. They chased after you like a swarm of bees, killing you all the way from Seir to Hormah.

and the Amorite who is dwelling in that hill-country comes out to meet you, and they pursue you as the bees do, and strike you in Seir, even to Hormah.

45 You came back to camp and wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen to what you said or to pay attention to you.

And you return and weep before YHWH, and YHWH has not listened to your voice, nor has He given ear to you;

46 You stayed there in Kadesh for a long time.

and you dwell in Kadesh [for] many days, according to the days which you had dwelt.”