Deuteronomy 1

1 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.

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.

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

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

3 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;

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.

4 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:

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.

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

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

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

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

7 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.

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.

8 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.

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.”

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

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

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

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.

11 (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!)

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

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

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

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

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.”

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

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

15 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.

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.

16 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.

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.

17 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.

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.”

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

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

19 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.

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,

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

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

21 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.

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.”

22 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.

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.”

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

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

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

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

25 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.

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.”

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

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

28 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.

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!’”

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

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

30 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;

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

31 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.

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.”

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

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

33 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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, 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.”

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

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

38 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.

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

39 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.

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.

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

But now turn around and head back into the desert on the road that leads to 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 when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

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.

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.

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.”

43 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.

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.

44 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.

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.

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

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.

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

You stayed there in Kadesh for a long time.