Deuteronomy 1
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all of Israel, across the Jordan, in the plain of the wilderness opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth, where gold is very plentiful,
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 eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir as far as Kadesh-barnea.
It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.
3 In the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses told the sons of Israel all that the Lord had instructed him. And so he spoke to 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 after he had struck down Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who resided at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
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 across the Jordan in the land of Moab. And so, Moses began to explain the law, and to say:
Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to announce these instructions, saying,
6 “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying: ‘You have remained long enough on this mountain.
“Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have lived long enough in this hill country.
7 Turn back and go to the mountain of the Amorites, and to the other places which are near it: the plains as well as the mountainous regions, and the low-lying places opposite the south and along the shore of the sea, the land of the Canaanites, and 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 ‘Lo,’ he said, ‘I have delivered it to you. Enter and possess that which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their offspring 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 And I said to you, at that time:
I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I am not able to carry you myself alone.
10 ‘I alone am not able to sustain you. For the Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and you are today like the stars of heaven, very many.
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, add to this number many thousands more, and may he bless you, just as he has said.
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 Alone, I do not have the strength to endure your arbitrations and judgments and disputes.
But how can I myself alone carry your loads, your burdens, and your disputes?
13 Offer, from among you, wise and experienced men, those whose conversation has been proven within your tribes, so that I may appoint them as your rulers.’
Take wise men, understanding men, and men of good repute from each tribe, and I will make them heads over you.'
14 Then you responded to me: ‘What you intend to do is a good thing.’
You answered me and said, 'The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.'
15 And so, I took from your tribes men, wise and noble, and I appointed them as rulers, as tribunes and centurions, and as leaders over fifty and over ten, who would teach you each thing.
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 And I instructed them, saying: ‘Listen to them, and judge what is just, whether he is one of your citizens or a sojourner.
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 There shall be no favoritism to any persons. So you shall listen to the little as well as to the great. And you shall not accept anyone’s reputation, for this is the judgment of God. But if anything seems difficult to you, then refer it to me, 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 I instructed you in all that you were obliged to do.
I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.
19 Then, setting out from Horeb, we crossed through a terrible and great wasteland, which you saw along the way of the mountain of the Amorite, just as the Lord our God had instructed us. And when we had arrived at 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 to you: ‘You have arrived at the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God will give to us.
I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God is giving to us.
21 Gaze upon the land that the Lord your God gives to you. Ascend and possess it, just as the Lord our God has spoken to your fathers. Do not be afraid, and do not become terrified by anything.’
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 And you all approached me and said: ‘Let us send men who may consider the land, and who may report as to the way by which we ought to ascend, and as to which cities we ought to travel.’
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 And since the word was pleasing to me, I sent from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.
The advice pleased me well; I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe.
24 These, when they had set out and had ascended the mountains, arrived as far as the valley of the cluster of grapes. And having considered the land,
They turned and went up into the hill country, came to the Valley of Eshkol, and scouted it.
25 having taken from its fruits in order to show its fertility, they brought these to us, and they said: ‘The land that the Lord our God will give to us is good.’
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 Yet you were not willing to go there. Instead, being incredulous to the word of the Lord our God,
Yet you refused to attack, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God.
27 you murmured in your tents, and you said: ‘The Lord hates us, and therefore he has led us away from the land of Egypt, so that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite and destroy us.
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 To where should we ascend? The messengers have terrified our heart by saying: “The multitude is very great, and taller than us. And the cities are great, and the walls extend even to the sky. We have seen the sons 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 And I said to you: ‘Do not be apprehensive, nor should you fear them.
Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified, neither be afraid of them.
30 The Lord God himself, who is your leader, will fight on your behalf, just as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.
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 (as you yourselves saw), the Lord your God carried you, like a man who is accustomed to carrying his little son, along all the way that you walked, until you arrived at 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 And yet, despite all of this, you did not believe the Lord your God,
Yet in spite of this word you did not believe Yahweh your God,
33 who went before you on the way, and who marked out the place where you should pitch your tents, showing you the way by fire in the night, and by a pillar of cloud in the day.
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 And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, becoming angry, he swore and said:
Yahweh heard the sound of your words and was angry; he swore and said,
35 ‘None of the men of this wicked generation will see the good land, which I have promised by oath to 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 the son of Jephuneh. For he himself will see it, and I will give the land on which he has walked to him and to his sons, because he has followed the Lord.’
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 Neither is his indignation with the people a wonder, since the Lord also became angry with me because of you, and so he said: ‘Neither will you enter into that place.
Also Yahweh was angry with me because of you, saying, 'You also will not go in there;
38 But Joshua, the son of Nun, your minister, shall himself enter on your behalf. Exhort and strengthen this man, and he himself shall divide the land by lot to Israel.
Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, he will go in there; encourage him, for he will lead Israel to inherit it.
39 Your little ones, about whom you said that they would be led away as captives, and your sons, who to this day are ignorant of the difference between good and evil, they shall enter. And I will give the land to 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 as for you, turn back and go out to the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.’
But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness along the way to the Sea of Reeds.'
41 And you responded to me: ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will ascend and fight, just as the Lord our God has instructed.’ And having been equipped with weapons, when you were setting out for the mountain,
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 the Lord said to me: ‘Say to them: Do not ascend and do not fight. For I am not with you. Otherwise, you may fall in the sight of 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 I spoke, and you did not listen. But, opposing the order of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you ascended onto the mountain.
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 And so, having gone forth, the Amorite, who was living in the mountains, came against you and pursued you, just as a swarm of bees would do. And he struck you down 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 when you returned and were weeping in the sight of the Lord, he would not hear you, nor was he willing to agree to your voice.
You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh did not listen to your voice, nor did he pay attention to you.
46 Therefore, you camped at Kadesh-barnea for a long time.”
So you stayed in Kadesh many days, all the days that you stayed there.
