Deuteronomy 1
1 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].
This is the record of what Moses told all the Israelites during their time in the desert to the east of the Jordan. They were in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran on the one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.
2 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.
(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the road that passes Mount Seir.)
3 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.
On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moses recounted to the Israelites everything that the Lord had instructed him to tell them.
4 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].
This happened after he defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and then at Edrei after he defeated Og king of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.
5 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:
Speaking on the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain these instructions, saying:
6 “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.
The Lord our God told us at Horeb: “You have remained here beside this mountain for long enough.
7 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.
Continue your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and all their neighbors, into the Jordan Valley, into the hill country, into the foothills, into the Negev, and along the coast to the country of the Canaanites up to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.
8 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.’”
Look, I'm giving this land to you. Go and take ownership of the land that the Lord promised he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants who would follow them.”
9 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.
That's when I told you, “I can't take responsibility for all of you by myself.
10 Yahweh our God has caused us Israelis to now become as numerous as the stars in the sky.
The Lord your God has increased your numbers so much that today there are as many of you as there are stars in the sky.
11 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.
May the Lord, the God of your forefathers, multiply you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised.
12 But I certainly cannot [RHQ] (solve/deal with) all of your complaints/problems.
But how can I take on all your troubles, burdens, and arguments just by myself?
13 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.’
You must choose for yourselves wise, experienced men with good judgment from each of your tribes, and I will put them in charge as your leaders.”
14 Your ancestors replied, ‘What you have suggested is good for us to do.’
You replied to me, saying, “Your proposal is a good one.”
15 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.
So I summoned your tribal leaders, men with good judgment, and put them in charge of you, as commanders and officials for your tribes. Some were responsible for thousands, some for hundreds, some for fifties, and some for tens.
16 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.
At the same time I gave strict instructions to your judges: “Hear the cases brought between your brothers, and make sure you are fair when you judge between a man and his brother or a foreigner living among you.
17 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.’
Don't show any favoritism when you judge—treat the powerful and the common people just the same. Don't let anyone intimidate you, because judgment is done on God's behalf. Bring me any case that is too hard for you, and I will hear it.”
18 At that time I also told you other things that you should do.”
This was also the time I instructed you about everything you had to do.
19 “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.
Following the orders of the Lord our God, we left Horeb and set off towards the hill country of the Amorites, passing through the whole of the large and terrifying desert that you yourselves have experienced. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,
20 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.
I explained to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving to us.
21 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.’
Look, the Lord your God has given you the land! Go and take ownership of the land as the Lord, the God of your forefathers, has told you. Don't be frightened or terrified.”
22 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.’
Then you all came to me and suggested, “Let's send men on ahead to explore the land and report back to us about what route to take and which towns we'll come across.”
23 I thought that it would be good to do that, so I chose twelve men, one man from each tribe.
It seemed like a good plan to me, so I chose twelve of your men, one from each tribe.
24 They went up into the hilly area as far as Eshcol Valley, and they explored all that area.
They set off and went up into the hill country as far as the Valley of Eshcol, exploring the land.
25 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.”
They brought back some of the country's fruit, carrying it down to us, and gave us the report: “The Lord our God is giving us good land.”
26 “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.
But you didn't want to go. You rebelled against the instructions of the Lord your God.
27 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.
You complained while you were in your tents and said, “It's because the Lord hates us that he led us out of Egypt in order to hand us over to the Amorites to be wiped out.
28 (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.’
Where are we going? Our brothers terrified us because they told us: ‘The people are bigger and taller than us; the towns are large, with high walls that reach the sky. We even saw the descendants of the giant Anak there!’”
29 Then I said to your ancestors, ‘Do not be afraid (at all/even a little bit) [DOU] of those people!
So I told you, “Don't be frightened or scared of them!
30 Yahweh our God will go ahead of you, and he will fight for you, just like you saw him do for you in Egypt
The Lord your God who leads your way will fight for you in the same way you saw him do for you in Egypt.
31 and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely here, like a man would carry his son. [SIM]’
He did the same in the desert—you saw how the Lord your God carried you like a father carries his son during your whole journey until you arrived here.”
32 [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.
Despite all this, you didn't trust the Lord your God,
who led you on the journey, present in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, looking to find a place for you to camp and to show you the way to go.
34 Yahweh heard what they said, and he became angry. He solemnly declared,
When the Lord heard what you were saying, he got angry and swore an oath:
35 ‘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.’
“Not a single one of this evil generation will see the good land I promised to give your forefathers,
except Caleb, son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he explored, because he was completely committed to the Lord.”
37 But because of [what] your ancestors [did], Yahweh was also angry with me. He said to me, ‘You also will not enter that land.
The Lord also got angry with me because of you. He told me, “Even you won't enter the country.
38 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.’
However, Joshua, son of Nun, your assistant, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will help Israel to occupy the land.
39 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.
Your small children that you claimed would become prisoners, your children who at the time didn't know good from evil, they will be the ones to enter the land that I will give them, and they will occupy it.
40 But as for you, turn around and go back into the desert, toward the (Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba).’
But now turn around and head back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea.”
41 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.
But you answered and told me, “We have sinned against the Lord! We will go and we will fight and we will do everything the Lord our God has ordered us to do.” Then you all picked up your weapons and prepared for battle thinking it would be easy to go and fight in the hill country.
42 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.”’
But the Lord instructed me, “Order them not to go and fight because I won't be with you to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.”
43 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.
I told you this, but you refused to listen. You defied the instructions of the Lord and arrogantly went to fight in the hill country.
44 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].
Then the Amorites living there in the hills came and attacked you. They chased after you like a swarm of bees, killing you all the way from Seir to Hormah.
45 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].
You came back to camp and wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen to what you said or to pay attention to you.
46 So we stayed there at Kadesh-Barnea for a long time.”
You stayed there in Kadesh for a long time.
