Deuteronomy 1

1 These [are] the words which Moses hath spoken unto all Israel, beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the plain over-against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-Zahab;

These are the words which Moses said to all Israel on the far side of Jordan, in the waste land in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran on the one side, and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other.

2 eleven days' from Horeb, the way of mount Seir, unto Kadesh-Barnea.

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

3 And it cometh to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month hath Moses spoken unto the sons of Israel according to all that Jehovah hath commanded him concerning them;

Now in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses gave to the children of Israel all the orders which the Lord had given him for them;

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

After he had overcome Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, ruling in Ashtaroth, at Edrei:

5 beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, hath Moses begun to explain this law, saying:

On the far side of Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses gave the people this law, saying,

6 'Jehovah our God hath spoken unto us in Horeb, saying, Enough to you — of dwelling in this mount;

The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have been long enough in this mountain:

7 turn ye and journey for you, and enter the mount of the Amorite, and unto all its neighbouring 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, unto the great river, the river Phrat;

Make a move now, and go on your way into the hill-country of the Amorites and the places near it, in the Arabah and the hill-country and in the lowlands and in the South and by the seaside, all the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

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

See, all the land is before you: go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them.

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

At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself;

10 Jehovah your God hath multiplied you, and lo, ye [are] to-day as the stars of the heavens for multitude;

The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number.

11 Jehovah, God of your fathers, is adding to you, as ye [are], a thousand times, and doth bless you as He hath spoken to you.

May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said!

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

How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments?

13 Give for yourselves men, wise and intelligent, and known to your tribes, and I set them for your heads;

Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

14 and ye answer me and say, Good [is] the thing which thou hast spoken — to do.

And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say.

15 'And I take the heads of your tribes, men, wise and known, and I appoint them heads over you, princes of thousands, and princes of hundreds, and princes of fifties, and princes of tens, and authorities, for your tribes.

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes.

16 And I command your judges at that time, saying, Hearkening between your brethren — then ye have judged righteousness between a man, and his brother, and his sojourner;

And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him.

17 ye do not discern faces in judgment; as the little so the great ye do hear; ye are not afraid of the face of any, for the judgment is God's, and the thing which is too hard for you, ye bring near unto me, and I have heard it;

In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.

18 and I command you, at that time, all the things which ye do.

And at that time I gave you all the orders which you were to do.

19 'And we journey from Horeb, and go [through] all that great and fearful wilderness which ye have seen — the way of the hill-country of the Amorite, as Jehovah our God hath commanded us, and we come in unto Kadesh-Barnea.

Then we went on from Horeb, through all that great and cruel waste which you saw, on our way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the Lord gave us orders; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

20 'And I say unto you, Ye have come in unto the hill-country of the Amorite, which Jehovah our God is giving to us;

And I said to you, You have come to the hill-country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.

21 see, Jehovah thy God hath set before thee the land; go up, possess, as Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath spoken to thee; fear not, nor be affrighted.

See now, the Lord your God has put the land into your hands: go up and take it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you; have no fear and do not be troubled.

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

And you came near to me, every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us to go through the land with care and give us an account of the way we are to go and the towns to which we will come.

23 and the thing is good in mine eyes, and I take of you twelve men, one man for a tribe.

And what you said seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from among you, one from every tribe;

24 'And they turn and go up to the hill-country, and come in unto the valley of Eshcol, and spy it,

And they went up into the hill-country and came to the valley of Eshcol, and saw what was there.

25 and they take with their hand of the fruit of the land, and bring down unto us, and bring us back word, and say, Good is the land which Jehovah our God is giving to us.

And taking in their hands some of the fruit of the land, they came down again to us, and gave us their account, saying, It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.

26 'And ye have not been willing to go up, and ye provoke the mouth of Jehovah your God,

But going against the order of the Lord your God, you would not go up:

27 and murmur in your tents, and say, In Jehovah's hating us He hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorite — to destroy us;

And you made an angry outcry in your tents, and said, In his hate for us the Lord has taken us out of the land of Egypt, to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction.

28 whither are we going up? our brethren have melted our heart, saying, A people greater and taller than we, cities great and fenced to heaven, and also sons of Anakim — we have seen there.

Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts feeble with fear by saying, The people are greater and taller than we are, and the towns are great and walled up to heaven; and more than this, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.

29 'And I say unto you, Be not terrified, nor be afraid of them;

Then I said to you, Have no fear of them.

30 Jehovah your God, who is going before you — He doth fight for you, according to all that He hath done with you in Egypt before your eyes,

The Lord your God who goes before you will be fighting for you, and will do such wonders as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

31 and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen that Jehovah thy God hath borne thee as a man beareth his son, in all the way which ye have gone, till your coming in unto this place.

And in the waste land, where you have seen how the Lord was supporting you, as a man does his son, in all your journeying till you came to this place.

32 'And in this thing ye are not stedfast in Jehovah your God,

But for all this, you had no faith in the Lord your God,

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

Who goes before you on your way, looking for a place where you may put up your tents, in fire by night, lighting up the way you are to go, and in a cloud by day.

34 'And Jehovah heareth the voice of your words, and is wroth, and sweareth, saying,

And the Lord, hearing your words, was angry, and said with an oath,

35 Not one of these men of this evil generation doth see the good land which I have sworn to give to your fathers,

Truly, not one of this evil generation will see that good land which I said I would give to your fathers,

36 save Caleb son of Jephunneh — he doth see it, and to him I give the land on which he hath trodden, and to his sons, because that he hath been fully after Jehovah.

But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart.

37 'Also with me hath Jehovah been angry for your sake, saying, Also, thou dost not go in thither;

And, in addition, the Lord was angry with me because of you, saying, You yourself will not go into it:

38 Joshua son of Nun, who is standing before thee, he goeth in thither; him strengthen thou; for he doth cause Israel to inherit.

Joshua, the son of Nun, your servant, he will go into the land: say to him that he is to be strong, for he will be Israel's guide into their heritage.

39 'And your infants, of whom ye have said, For a prey they are, and your sons who have not known to-day good and evil, they go in thither, and to them I give it, and they possess it;

And your little ones, who, you said, would come into strange hands, your children, who now have no knowledge of good or evil, they will go into that land, and to them I will give it and it will be theirs.

40 and ye, turn for yourselves, and journey toward the wilderness, the way of the Red Sea.

But as for you, go back, journeying into the waste land by the way of the Red Sea.

41 'And ye answer and say unto me, We have sinned against Jehovah; we — we go up, and we have fought, according to all that which Jehovah our God hath commanded us; and ye gird on each his weapons of war, and ye are ready to go up into the hill-country;

Then you said to me, We have done evil against the Lord, we will go up to the attack, as the Lord our God has given us orders. And arming yourselves every one, you made ready to go up without care into the hill-country.

42 and Jehovah saith unto me, Say to them, Ye do not go up, nor fight, for I am not in your midst, and ye are not smitten before your enemies.

And the Lord said to me, Say to them, Do not go up to the attack; for I am not among you, and you will be overcome by those who are against you.

43 'And I speak unto you, and ye have not hearkened, and provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and act proudly, and go up into the hill-country;

This I said to you, but you gave no attention and went against the orders of the Lord, and in your pride went up into the hill-country.

44 and the Amorite who is dwelling in that hill-country cometh out to meet you, and they pursue you as the bees do, and smite you in Seir — unto Hormah.

And the Amorites who were in the hill-country came out against you and put you to flight, rushing after you like bees, and overcame you in Seir, driving you even as far as Hormah.

45 'And ye turn back and weep before Jehovah, and Jehovah hath not hearkened to your voice, nor hath he given ear unto you;

And you came back, weeping before the Lord; but the Lord gave no attention to your cries and did not give ear to you.

46 and ye dwell in Kadesh many days, according to the days which ye had dwelt.

So you were kept waiting in Kadesh for a long time.