Deuteronomy 1
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
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 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.
(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by the road that passes Mount Seir.)
3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to 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 after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
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 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying,
Speaking on the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain these instructions, saying:
6 “Yahweh our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have lived long enough at this mountain.
The Lord our God told us at Horeb: “You have remained here beside this mountain for long enough.
7 Turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there: in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South, by the seashore, in the land of the Canaanites, and in Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
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 Behold, I have set the land before you. Go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give to them and to their offspring after them.’”
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 I spoke to you at that time, saying, “I am not able to bear you myself alone.
That's when I told you, “I can't take responsibility for all of you by myself.
10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the sky for multitude.
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 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!
May the Lord, the God of your forefathers, multiply you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised.
12 How can I myself alone bear your problems, your burdens, and your strife?
But how can I take on all your troubles, burdens, and arguments just by myself?
13 Take wise men of understanding who are respected among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”
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 You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.”
You replied to me, saying, “Your proposal is a good one.”
15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and respected men, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, according to 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 commanded your judges at that time, saying, “Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him.
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 shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.”
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 I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.
This was also the time I instructed you about everything you had to do.
19 We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to 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 you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives 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 Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as Yahweh the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.”
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 You came near to me, everyone of you, and said, “Let’s send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come.”
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 The thing pleased me well. I took twelve of your men, one man for every tribe.
It seemed like a good plan to me, so I chose twelve of your men, one from each tribe.
24 They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
They set off and went up into the hill country as far as the Valley of Eshcol, exploring the land.
25 They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, “It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us.”
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 Yet you wouldn’t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God.
But you didn't want to go. You rebelled against the instructions of the Lord your God.
27 You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because Yahweh hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites 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 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’”
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 you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them.
So I told you, “Don't be frightened or scared of them!
30 Yahweh your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
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 wilderness where you have seen how that Yahweh your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”
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 Yet in this thing you didn’t believe Yahweh your God,
Despite all this, you didn't trust the Lord your God,
33 who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.
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 the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying,
When the Lord heard what you were saying, he got angry and swore an oath:
35 “Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers,
“Not a single one of this evil generation will see the good land I promised to give your forefathers,
36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh.”
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 Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, saying, “You also shall not go in there.
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 stands before you, shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
However, Joshua, son of Nun, your assistant, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will help Israel to occupy the land.
39 Moreover your little ones, whom you said would be captured or killed, your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there. I will give it to them, and they shall possess 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, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”
But now turn around and head back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea.”
41 Then you answered and said to me, “We have sinned against Yahweh. We will go up and fight, according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us.” Every man of you put on his weapons of war, and presumed to go up into the hill country.
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 Yahweh said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go up and don’t fight; for I am not among you, lest you be struck before your enemies.’”
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 spoke to you, and you didn’t listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill country.
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 The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah.
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 You returned and wept before Yahweh, but Yahweh didn’t listen to your voice, nor turn his ear to you.
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 you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained.
You stayed there in Kadesh for a long time.
