Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain of the Jordan River valley over against Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

In this book is written what Moses/I said to the Israeli people. He/I told them these things when they/we were in the desert, on the east side of the Jordan [River]. They/We had set up our tents near [a place named] Suph, between Paran [town on the one side of the river] and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab [towns on the other side of the river].

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

To walk from Sinai [Mountain] to the Kadesh-Barnea [oasis], people usually travel for only eleven days, going by way of the hilly area named Edom.

3 It happened in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the people of Israel, telling them all that Yahweh commanded him concerning them.

Forty years after (the Israelis/we) left Egypt, in the middle of January, Moses/I told the Israeli people everything that Yahweh had commanded him/me to tell them.

4 This was after Yahweh had attacked Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth at Edrei.

This was after they/we had defeated Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city], and Og, the king of the Bashan [region] who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei [towns].

5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to announce these instructions, saying,

Moses/I told them these things while the people were in the Moab region, on the east side of the Jordan [River]. He/I (explained to them/enabled them to understand) God’s laws. This is what he/I said to them:

6 “Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have lived long enough in this hill country.

“Yahweh our God said to us when we were at Sinai [Mountain], ‘You have stayed for a very long time at [the bottom of] this mountain.

7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there in the plain of the Jordan River valley, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Negev, and by the seashore—the land of the Canaanites, and in Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates.

So now continue traveling. Go to the hilly area where the Amor people-group lives and to the nearby areas—to the Jordan [River] Valley, to the hilly region, to the western (foothills/hills at the bottom of the mountains), to the desert area to the south, to the [Mediterranean] Seacoast, to all of Canaan land, to the Lebanon [Mountains], and [northeast] to the great Euphrates River.

8 Look, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land that Yahweh swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give to them and to their descendants after them.'

Note that I will give that land to you. I, Yahweh, promised to your ancestors Abraham and Isaac and Jacob that I would give it to them and to their descendants. So now go and occupy it.’”

9 I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I am not able to carry you myself alone.

Moses/I also said to the people, “When [we were still at Sinai Mountain], I told your ancestors ‘It is a very big burden/responsibility for me to govern all of you. So I cannot do it by myself.

10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and, look, you are today as the multitude of the stars of heaven.

Yahweh our God has caused us Israelis to now become as numerous as the stars in the sky.

11 May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you!

And I hope/desire that Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors [worshiped], will cause us to become 1,000 times as numerous as we are now and that he will bless us just like he promised to do.

12 But how can I myself alone carry your loads, your burdens, and your disputes?

But I certainly cannot [RHQ] (solve/deal with) all of your complaints/problems.

13 Take wise men, understanding men, and men of good repute from each tribe, and I will make them heads over you.'

So choose some men from your tribes who are wise and who have good sense and who are respected. Then I will appoint them to be your leaders.’

14 You answered me and said, 'The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.'

Your ancestors replied, ‘What you have suggested is good for us to do.’

15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and men of good repute, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe.

So I took the wise and respected men [that your ancestors chose] from your tribes, and I appointed them to be your leaders. I appointed some to (rule/have authority) over 1,000 people, some to have authority over 100 people, some to have authority over 50 people, and some to have authority over ten people. I also appointed other officers from throughout your tribes.

16 I commanded your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is with him.

I instructed/told your leaders, ‘Listen to the disputes that occur among your people. Judge each dispute, including disputes between close relatives and quarrels between your people and people from other countries who live among you.

17 You will not show partiality to anyone in a dispute; you will hear the small and the great alike. You will not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's. The dispute that is too hard for you, you will bring to me, and I will hear it.'

You must (be impartial/not favor one person more than another); you must treat poor people and important people equally. You must not worry about what anyone will think [about how you decide matters], because you will decide matters as God [wants you to]. If any quarrel/dispute is very difficult and you are unable to decide it, bring it to me, and I will decide.’

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

At that time I also told you other things that you should do.”

19 We journeyed away from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness that you saw, on our way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea.

“Then, just like Yahweh our God commanded us, we left Sinai [Mountain] and went through that huge desert that was very (dangerous/difficult to travel through), on the road to the hilly area where the Amor people-group live. We arrived at Kadesh-Barnea.

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

I said to your ancestors, ‘We have now come to the hilly area where the Amor people-group live. This is part of the area that Yahweh our God, the one whom our ancestors [worshiped], is giving to us.

21 Look, Yahweh your God has set the land before you; go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you; do not be afraid, neither be discouraged.'

Note that Yahweh our God is giving this land to us. So go and occupy it as he commanded. Do not be (at all/even a little bit) afraid.’

22 Every one of you came to me and said, 'Let us send men ahead of us, so that they may search out the land for us, and bring us word about the way by which we should attack, and about the cities to which we will come.'

But all of your ancestors came to me and said, ‘Before we go, we should [first] send some men there to explore the land, in order that they can return and tell us which will be the best road to go there and what kind of towns are there.’

23 The advice pleased me well; I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe.

I thought that it would be good to do that, so I chose twelve men, one man from each tribe.

24 They turned and went up into the hill country, came to the Valley of Eshkol, and scouted it.

They went up into the hilly area as far as Eshcol Valley, and they explored all that area.

25 They took some of the produce of the land in their hands and brought it down to us. They also brought us word and said, 'It is a good land that Yahweh our God is giving to us.'

They picked some of the fruit that they found there and brought it to us. They reported that the land that Yahweh our God was giving to us is very good/fertile.”

26 Yet you refused to attack, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God.

“But your ancestors refused to go [and conquer that land]. They rebelled against what Yahweh our God had commanded them to do, and they would not go into that land.

27 You complained in your tents and said, “It is because Yahweh hated us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

Your ancestors [stayed] in their tents and complained saying ‘Yahweh hates us. So he has brought us here from Egypt just to allow the Amor people-group to destroy us.

28 Where can we go now? Our brothers have made our heart to melt, saying, 'Those people are bigger and taller than we are; their cities are large and are fortified up to the heavens; moreover, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.'”

(Why should we go there?/We do not want to go there.) [RHQ] The men whom we sent there have caused us to become very discouraged/afraid. They have told us that the people there are much stronger and taller than we are and that there are extremely high [HYP] walls around their towns. Also they reported that they saw [giants there that are] descendants of Anak.’

29 Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified, neither be afraid of them.

Then I said to your ancestors, ‘Do not be afraid (at all/even a little bit) [DOU] of those people!

30 Yahweh your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, like everything that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

Yahweh our God will go ahead of you, and he will fight for you, just like you saw him do for you in Egypt

31 and also in the wilderness, where you have seen how Yahweh your God carried you, as a man carries his son, everywhere you went until you came to this place.'

and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely here, like a man would carry his son. [SIM]’

32 Yet in spite of this word you did not believe Yahweh your God,

[I reminded them that] he always went ahead of them while they traveled [in the desert]. He directed them by [a pillar of] fire during the night and a [pillar of] cloud during the day. He showed them places to set up their tents. But in spite of what I said, your ancestors would not trust Yahweh our God.

33 who went before you on the way to find a place for you to make camp, in fire by night and in a cloud by day.

34 Yahweh heard the sound of your words and was angry; he swore and said,

Yahweh heard what they said, and he became angry. He solemnly declared,

35 'Surely not one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,

‘Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, will enter the land. He has obeyed me completely. So I will give to him and to his descendants [some of] the land that he explored. He is the only one of all you people who will enter that land. None of these evil people will ever see that good land which I solemnly promised to give to your ancestors.’

36 save Caleb son of Jephunneh; he will see it. To him I will give the land that he has stepped on, and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh.'

37 Also Yahweh was angry with me because of you, saying, 'You also will not go in there;

But because of [what] your ancestors [did], Yahweh was also angry with me. He said to me, ‘You also will not enter that land.

38 Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, he will go in there; encourage him, for he will lead Israel to inherit it.

Joshua, the son of Nun, who is your helper, will enter it. Encourage him, because he is the one who will enable you Israeli people to occupy that land.’

39 Moreover, your little children, the ones you said would be victims, who today have no knowledge of good or evil—they will go in there. To them I will give it, and they will possess it.

Then Yahweh said to all of us, ‘You said that your children would be captured by your enemies. Because they are very young, they do not yet know what is good and what is evil. But they are the ones to whom I will give that land, and they will enter it and occupy it.

40 But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness along the way to the Sea of Reeds.'

But as for you, turn around and go back into the desert, toward the (Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba).’

41 Then you answered and said to me, 'We have sinned against Yahweh; we will go up and fight, and we will follow all that Yahweh our God has commanded us to do.' Every man among you put on his weapons of war, and you were ready to attack the hill country.

Then your ancestors replied, ‘We have sinned; we have disobeyed Yahweh. So we will go and attack [the people who live in] that land, just like Yahweh our God commanded us to do.’ And each of their men put on his weapons, and they thought that it would be easy to invade the hilly region.

42 Yahweh said to me, 'Say to them, “Do not attack and do not fight, for I will not be with you, and you will be defeated by your enemies.'

But Yahweh said to me, ‘Tell them, “Do not go up there and attack those people, because I will not go with you. If you go, your enemies will defeat you.”’

43 I spoke to you in this way, but you did not listen. You rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh; you were arrogant and attacked the hill country.

So I told that to your ancestors, but they would not heed what I said. They [again] rebelled against what Yahweh commanded them to do. Their soldiers proudly/arrogantly marched up into that hilly region.

44 But the Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you like bees, and struck you down in Seir, as far as Hormah.

Then the men of the Amor people-group who lived in that region came out [of their towns] and attacked those soldiers. They pursued your ancestors’ soldiers like [a swarm of] bees pursues people, and they pursued them [south] from the Edom area and defeated them at Hormah [city].

45 You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh did not listen to your voice, nor did he pay attention to you.

So your ancestors went back [to Kadesh-Barnea] and cried out to request Yahweh [to help them], but he did not heed them. He did not pay any attention to them [DOU].

46 So you stayed in Kadesh many days, all the days that you stayed there.

So we stayed there at Kadesh-Barnea for a long time.”