Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel on this side of the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Chazeroth, and Di-zahab.

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.

2 It is a journey of eleven days from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea'.

It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of 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 spoke unto the children of Israel, according to all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them;

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.

4 After he had smitten Sichon the king of the Emorites, who dwelt in Cheshbon, and 'Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt at 'Ashtaroth in Edre'i.

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.

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

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

6 The Lord our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have tarried long enough at this mount;

The LORD our God said to us at Horeb: “You have stayed at this mountain long enough.

7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mountain of the Emorites, and unto all its neighboring places, in the plain, in the mountain, and in the lowlands, and in the southern country, and by the coast of the sea, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto the Lebanon, up to the great river, the river Euphrates.

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.

8 Behold, I have given up the land before you: go in and take possession of the land which the Lord hath sworn unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it unto them and to their seed after them.

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.”

9 And I said unto you at that time, as followeth, I am not able alone to bear you:

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

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 multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

11 May the Lord the God of your fathers make you a thousand times as many more as ye are; and bless you, as he hath spoken unto you.

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

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

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

13 Furnish for yourselves wise and understanding men, and those known among your tribes, and I will place them as chiefs over you.

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

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

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

15 And I took the chiefs of your tribes, wise and known men, and I set them as heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and as officers for your tribes.

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.

16 And I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously, between a man and his brother, and between his stranger.

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.

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

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.”

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

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

19 And we departed from Horeb, and we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye have seen, by the way of the mountain of the Emorites, as the Lord our God had commanded us; and we came as far as Kadesh-barnea'.

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,

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

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

21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath given up the land before thee: go up and take possession of it, as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath spoken unto thee; do not fear, and be not discouraged.

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.”

22 And ye all came near unto me and said, Let us send out men before us, that they may search out for us the land, and bring us word again concerning the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come.

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.”

23 And the thing was pleasing in my eyes; and I took of you twelve men, one man for every tribe:

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

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

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

25 And they took in their hand some of the fruit of the land, and brought it down unto us; and they brought us word again, and said, The land which the Lord our God doth give us is good.

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.”

26 But you would not go up, and ye rebelled against the order of the Lord your God;

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

27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, On account of the hatred of the Lord toward us, hath he brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Emorites, to destroy us.

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.

28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have made faint our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover the sons of the 'Anakim have we seen there.

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.’”

29 And I said unto you, Have no dread, nor be ye afraid of them.

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

30 The Lord your God who goeth before you, he it is who will fight for you; all just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt

31 And in the wilderness which thou hast seen, where the Lord thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, on all the way that ye have gone, until ye came unto this place.

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.”

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

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

33 Who goeth before you on the way to seek out for you a place for your encamping, in fire by night, to cause you to see on the way in which ye are to go, and in a cloud by day.

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.

34 And the Lord heard the voice of your words; and he was wroth, and swore, saying,

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

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

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

36 Save Caleb the son of Yephunneh, he shall see it, and to him will I give the land upon which he hath trodden, 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 on which he has set foot, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”

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

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

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

Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit the land.

39 And your little ones, of whom ye said, They will become a prey, and your children who know not this day either good or evil, these shall go in thither; and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

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.

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

But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”

41 And ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord; we indeed will go up and we will fight, according to all that the Lord our God hath commanded us; and ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and ye insisted to go up into the mountain.

“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.

42 And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, and do not fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

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.”

43 And I spoke unto you; but ye would not hear; and ye rebelled against the order of the Lord, and you were presumptuous, and went up into the mountain.

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.

44 And the Emorites, who dwelt in that mountain: came out against you, and they pursued you, as the bees do, and they overthrew you in Seir, as far as Chormah.

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.

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

And you returned and wept before the LORD, but He would not listen to your voice or give ear to you.

46 And ye tarried in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye tarried there.

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