Deuteronomy 1:1-18

New King James Version

The Previous Command to Enter Canaan

1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel ^(A)on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the ^[a]plain opposite ^[b]Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. ² It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir ^(B)to Kadesh Barnea. ³ Now it came to pass ^(C)in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them, ^4 (D)after he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth ^(E)in^[c] Edrei.

⁵ On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying, ⁶ “The Lord our God spoke to us ^(F)in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long ^(G)enough at this mountain. ⁷ Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the ^[d]plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord ^[e]swore to your fathers—to ^(H)Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them.’

Tribal Leaders Appointed^(I)

⁹ “And ^(J)I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I ^[f]alone am not able to bear you. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has multiplied you, ^(K)and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. ^11 (L)May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you ^(M)as He has promised you! ^12 (N)How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? ¹³ Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them ^[g]heads over you.’ ¹⁴ And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’ ¹⁵ So I took ^(O)the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and ^[h]made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.

¹⁶ “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and ^(P)judge righteously between a man and his ^(Q)brother or the stranger who is with him. ^17 (R)You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for ^(S)the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, ^(T)bring to me, and I will hear it.’ ¹⁸ And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.