Deuteronomy 1:19-2:15

New International Version

Spies Sent Out

¹⁹ Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites^(A) through all that vast and dreadful wilderness^(B) that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.^{(C) 20} Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession^(D) of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid;^(E) do not be discouraged.”^(F)

²² Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy^(G) out the land^(H) for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

²³ The idea seemed good to me; so I selected^(I) twelve of you, one man from each tribe. ²⁴ They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol^(J) and explored it. ²⁵ Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,^(K) “It is a good land^(L) that the Lord our God is giving us.”^(M)

Rebellion Against the Lord

²⁶ But you were unwilling to go up;^(N) you rebelled^(O) against the command of the Lord your God. ²⁷ You grumbled^(P) in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. ²⁸ Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller^(Q) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites^(R) there.’”

²⁹ Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid^(S) of them.^{(T) 30} The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight^(U) for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, ³¹ and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried^(V) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”^(W)

³² In spite of this,^(X) you did not trust^(Y) in the Lord your God, ³³ who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day,^(Z) to search^(AA) out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

³⁴ When the Lord heard^(AB) what you said, he was angry^(AC) and solemnly swore:^{(AD) 35} “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land^(AE) I swore to give your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb^(AF) son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.^(AG)”

³⁷ Because of you the Lord became angry^(AH) with me also and said, “You shall not enter^(AI) it, either. ³⁸ But your assistant, Joshua^(AJ) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage^(AK) him, because he will lead^(AL) Israel to inherit^(AM) it. ³⁹ And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,^(AN) your children who do not yet know^(AO) good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. ⁴⁰ But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.^[a](AP)”

⁴¹ Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

⁴² But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”^(AQ)

⁴³ So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees^(AR) and beat you down from Seir^(AS) all the way to Hormah.^{(AT) 45} You came back and wept before the Lord,^(AU) but he paid no attention^(AV) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear^(AW) to you. ⁴⁶ And so you stayed in Kadesh^(AX) many days—all the time you spent there.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

2 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,^[b](AY) as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.^(AZ)

² Then the Lord said to me, ³ “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;^(BA) now turn north. ⁴ Give the people these orders:^(BB) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau,^(BC) who live in Seir.^(BD) They will be afraid^(BE) of you, but be very careful. ⁵ Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.^{(BF) 6} You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

⁷ The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched^(BG) over your journey through this vast wilderness.^(BH) These forty years^(BI) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.^(BJ)

⁸ So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from^(BK) the Arabah^(BL) road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber,^(BM) and traveled along the desert road of Moab.^(BN)

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar^(BO) to the descendants of Lot^(BP) as a possession.”

¹⁰ (The Emites^(BQ) used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.^{(BR) 11} Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites,^(BS) but the Moabites called them Emites. ¹² Horites^(BT) used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did^(BU) in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

¹³ And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.^(BV)” So we crossed the valley.

¹⁴ Thirty-eight years^(BW) passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea^(BX) until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation^(BY) of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.^{(BZ) 15} The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated^(CA) them from the camp.