Deuteronomy 1
1 THESE ARE the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel beyond the Jordan; in the wilderness, in the Arabah, over against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.
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 eleven days journey from Horeb unto Kadesh-barnea by the way of mount Seir.
eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir as far as Kadesh-barnea.
3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto 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 after he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei;
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 beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, took Moses upon him to expound 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 spoke unto us in Horeb, saying: 'Ye have dwelt long enough in this mountain;
“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying: ‘You have remained long enough on this mountain.
7 turn you, and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the Arabah, in the hill-country, and in the Lowland, and in the South, and by the sea-shore; the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the 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 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed 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 And I spoke unto you at that time, saying: 'I am not able to bear you myself alone;
And I said to you, at that time:
10 the LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. —
‘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 The LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as He hath promised you! —
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 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Alone, I do not have the strength to endure your arbitrations and judgments and disputes.
13 Get you, from each one of your tribes, wise men, and understanding, and full of knowledge, and I will make them heads over you.'
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 ye answered me, and said: 'The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.'
Then you responded to me: ‘What you intend to do is a good thing.’
15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe.
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 And I charged your judges at that time, saying: 'Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
And I instructed them, saying: ‘Listen to them, and judge what is just, whether he is one of your citizens or a sojourner.
17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man; for the judgment is God's; and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, 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 I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.
And I instructed you in all that you were obliged to do.
19 And we journeyed from Horeb, and went through all that great and dreadful wilderness which ye saw, by the way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to 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 And I said unto you: 'Ye are come unto the hill-country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God giveth unto us.
I said to you: ‘You have arrived at the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God will give to us.
21 Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee; go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath spoken unto thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.'
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 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said: 'Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us back word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities unto which we shall come.'
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 And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe;
And since the word was pleasing to me, I sent from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.
24 and they turned and went up into the mountains, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
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 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us back word, and said: 'Good is the land which the LORD our God giveth unto 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 Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment 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 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.
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 Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart to melt, saying: The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons 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 Then I said unto you: 'Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
And I said to you: ‘Do not be apprehensive, nor should you fear them.
30 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;
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 thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto 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 Yet in this thing ye do not believe the LORD your God,
And yet, despite all of this, you did not believe the Lord your God,
33 Who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in the cloud by day.'
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 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and swore, saying:
And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, becoming angry, he swore and said:
35 'Surely there shall not one of these men, even this evil generation, see the good land, which I swore to give unto 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 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.'
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 Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying: Thou also shalt not go in thither;
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 the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall go in thither; encourage thou him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
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 Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, and your children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall 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 as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.'
But as for you, turn back and go out to the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.’
41 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 ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and deemed it a light thing 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 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.'
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 unto you, and ye hearkened not; but ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and were presumptuous, and 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 And the Amorites, that dwell in that hill-country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even unto 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 ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD hearkened not to your voice, nor gave ear unto 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 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.
Therefore, you camped at Kadesh-barnea for a long time.”
