Deuteronomy 1:26-36

EasyEnglish Bible

The people refuse to obey the Lord

²⁶ But you refused to go into the land. You turned against the Lord your God.^{[a] 27} You complained to each other in your tents. You said, ‘The Lord hates us. That is why he brought us out of Egypt. He wanted to give us to the Amorites, so that they would kill us. ²⁸ We do not know what will happen to us now. Our brothers who explored the land have made us afraid. They say, “Those people in Canaan are taller and stronger than we are. Their cities are big and strong. They have walls around them that reach up to the sky. We even saw some men there who are descendants of Anak.” ’

²⁹ Then I said to you, ‘Do not be so frightened of those people. ³⁰ The Lord your God will go in front of you. He will fight to help you, as he fought for you in Egypt. You saw him do it. ³¹ He was also with you in the desert. He helped you when you were weak, as a father carries his son. You saw how he helped you all the way on your journey. He brought you safely here to this place.’

³² But you did not trust the Lord your God to help you. ³³ He was the one who went in front of you on your journey. He was there in a fire during the night and in a cloud during the day. He found good places for you to put up your tents. He showed you the way that you should go.

³⁴ When the Lord heard that you were complaining, he was angry. He made this serious promise: ³⁵ ‘You people who are now alive are wicked. None of you will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors. ³⁶ Only Jephunneh's son Caleb will see it. He has obeyed me faithfully. So I will give to him and to his descendants the land that he walked on.’