Deuteronomy 1

1 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.

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.

2 It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.

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

3 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.

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.

4 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

7 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.

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.

8 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.”

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.'

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

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

10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 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.

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.

16 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.

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.

17 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.”

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.'

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

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

19 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,

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.

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

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

21 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.”

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.'

22 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.”

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.'

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

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

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

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

25 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.”

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.'

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

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

27 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.

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.

28 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.’”

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.'”

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

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

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

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

31 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.”

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.'

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

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

33 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.

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

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

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

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

36 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.”

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

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

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

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

39 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.

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.

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

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

41 “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.

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.

42 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.”

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.'

43 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.

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.

44 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.

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.

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

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

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

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