Deuteronomy 1

Israel’s History after the Exodus

1These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel 1across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the 2Arabah opposite 3Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2It is eleven days’ journey from 4Horeb by the way of Mount 5Seir to 6Kadesh-barnea. 3In the 7fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, 8according to all that the Lord had commanded him to give to them, 4after he had 910defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and 11Og the king of Bashan, who lived in 12Ashtaroth 13and Edrei. 5Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

6“The Lord our God 14spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have 15stayed long enough at this mountain. 7Turn and set your journey, and go to 16the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in 17the 18Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord 19swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their 20descendants after them.’

9“I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘21I am not able to bear the burden of you alone. 10The Lord your God has 22multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. 11May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, 23just as He has 24promised you! 12How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife? 132526Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 14You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ 15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and 27appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and 28of hundreds, 29of fifties and 30of tens, and officers for your tribes.

16“Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your 31fellow countrymen, and 32judge righteously between a man and his 33fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him. 1734You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall 35not fear 36man, for the judgment is God’s. 37The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 1838I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

19“Then we set out from 39Horeb, and went through all that 40great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the 41hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us; and we came to 42Kadesh-barnea. 20I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the Lord our God is about to give us. 21See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. 43Do not fear or be dismayed.’

22“44Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up and the cities which we shall enter.’ 23The thing pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe. 2445They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25Then they took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought us back a report and said, ‘It is a good land which the Lord our God is about to give us.’

26“46Yet you were not willing to go up, but 47rebelled against the 48command of the Lord your God; 27and 49you 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 destroy us. 28Where can we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw 50the sons of the Anakim there.”’ 29Then I said to you, ‘Do not be shocked, nor fear them. 30The Lord your God who goes before you will 51Himself fight on your behalf, 52just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31and in the wilderness where you saw how 53the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’ 32But 5455for all this, you did not trust the Lord your God, 3356who goes before you on your way, 57to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.

34“Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and 58took an oath, saying, 35‘59Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers, 36except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and 60to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed the Lord fully.’ 3761The Lord was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘62Not even you shall enter there. 38Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, 63he shall enter there; encourage him, for 64he will cause Israel to inherit it. 39Moreover, 65your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have 66no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it. 40But as for you, 67turn around and set out for the wilderness by the way to the 68Red Sea.’

41“69Then you said to me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will indeed go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every man of you girded on his weapons of war, and regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country. 4270And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; otherwise you will be 71defeated before your enemies.”’ 43So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead 72you rebelled against the 73command of the Lord, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country. 4474The Amorites who 75lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you 76as bees do, and crushed you from Seir to Hormah. 45Then you returned and wept before the Lord; but the 77Lord did not listen to your voice nor give ear to you. 46So you remained in 78Kadesh many days, 79the days that you spent there.