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Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
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.

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land(U)

19 “So we departed from Horeb, (V)and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the Lord our God had commanded us. Then (W)we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; (X)do not fear or be discouraged.’

22 “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’

23 “The plan pleased me well; so (Y)I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe. 24 (Z)And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a (AA)good land which the Lord our God is giving us.’

26 (AB)“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; 27 and you (AC)complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord (AD)hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where can we go up? Our brethren have [i]discouraged our hearts, saying, (AE)“The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the (AF)Anakim there.” ’

29 “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, (AG)or afraid of them. 30 (AH)The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a (AI)man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet, for all that, (AJ)you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 (AK)who went in the way before you (AL)to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.

The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion(AM)

34 “And the Lord heard the sound of your words, and was angry, (AN)and took an oath, saying, 35 (AO)‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I [j]swore to give to your fathers, 36 (AP)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because (AQ)he [k]wholly followed the Lord.’ 37 (AR)The Lord was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there. 38 (AS)Joshua the son of Nun, (AT)who stands before you, he shall go in there. (AU)Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39 (AV)‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who (AW)you say will be victims, who today (AX)have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40 (AY)But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’

41 “Then you answered and said to me, (AZ)‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain.

42 “And the Lord said to me, ‘Tell them, (BA)“Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.” ’ 43 So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but (BB)rebelled against the command of the Lord, and (BC)presumptuously[l] went up into the mountain. 44 And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you (BD)as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. 45 Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.

46 (BE)“So you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you spent there.

The Desert Years

2 “Then we turned and (BF)journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, (BG)as the Lord spoke to me, and we [m]skirted Mount Seir for many days.

2 “And the Lord spoke to me, saying: 3 ‘You have skirted this mountain (BH)long enough; turn northward. 4 And command the people, saying, (BI)“You are about to pass through the territory of (BJ)your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. 5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, (BK)because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

7 “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your [n]trudging through this great wilderness. (BL)These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’

8 “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from (BM)Elath and Ezion Geber, we (BN)turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab. 9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given (BO)Ar to (BP)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

10 (BQ)(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as (BR)the Anakim. 11 They were also regarded as [o]giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 (BS)The Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their [p]place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lord gave them.)

13 “ ‘Now rise and cross over (BT)the [q]Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered. 14 And the time we took to come (BU)from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, (BV)until all the generation of the men of war [r]was consumed from the midst of the camp, (BW)just as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they [s]were consumed.

16 “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, 17 that the Lord spoke to me, saying: 18 ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab. 19 And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to (BX)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

20 (That was also regarded as a land of [t]giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them (BY)Zamzummim, 21 (BZ)a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, 22 just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, (CA)who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed (CB)the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day. 23 And (CC)the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza—(CD)the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)

24 “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and (CE)cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand (CF)Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin [u]to possess it, and engage him in battle. 25 (CG)This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations [v]under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall (CH)tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

King Sihon Defeated(CI)

26 “And I (CJ)sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, (CK)with words of peace, saying, 27 (CL)‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left. 28 You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; (CM)only let me pass through on foot, 29 (CN)just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us.’

30 (CO)“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for (CP)the Lord your God (CQ)hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.

31 “And the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to (CR)give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’ 32 (CS)Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz. 33 And (CT)the Lord our God delivered him [w]over to us; so (CU)we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. 34 We took all his cities at that time, and we (CV)utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining. 35 We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we took. 36 (CW)From Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from (CX)the city that is in the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; (CY)the Lord our God delivered all to us. 37 Only you did not go near the land of the people of Ammon—anywhere along the River (CZ)Jabbok, or to the cities of the mountains, or (DA)wherever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

King Og Defeated(DB)

3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and (DC)Og king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle (DD)at Edrei. 2 And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to (DE)Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’

3 “So the Lord our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we [x]attacked him until he had no survivors remaining. 4 And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, (DF)all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns. 6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king (DG)of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. 7 But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves.

8 “And at that time we took the (DH)land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount (DI)Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call (DJ)Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir), 10 (DK)all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and (DL)all Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11 (DM)“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of (DN)the [y]giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in (DO)Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.

The Land East of the Jordan Divided(DP)

12 “And this (DQ)land, which we possessed at that time, (DR)from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and (DS)its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. 13 (DT)The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the [z]giants. 14 (DU)Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, (DV)as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and (DW)called Bashan after his own name, [aa]Havoth Jair, to this day.)

15 “Also I gave (DX)Gilead to Machir. 16 And to the Reubenites (DY)and the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, (DZ)the border of the people of Ammon; 17 the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth (EA)as far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah (EB)(the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.

18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. (EC)All you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel. 19 But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you, 20 until the Lord has given (ED)rest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may (EE)return to his possession which I have given you.’

21 “And (EF)I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 22 You must not fear them, for (EG)the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:1 Heb. arabah
  2. Deuteronomy 1:1 One LXX ms., Tg., Vg. Red Sea
  3. Deuteronomy 1:4 LXX, Syr., Vg. and; cf. Josh. 12:4
  4. Deuteronomy 1:7 Heb. arabah
  5. Deuteronomy 1:8 promised
  6. Deuteronomy 1:9 am not able to bear you by myself
  7. Deuteronomy 1:13 rulers
  8. Deuteronomy 1:15 appointed
  9. Deuteronomy 1:28 Lit. melted
  10. Deuteronomy 1:35 promised
  11. Deuteronomy 1:36 fully
  12. Deuteronomy 1:43 willfully
  13. Deuteronomy 2:1 circled around
  14. Deuteronomy 2:7 Lit. goings
  15. Deuteronomy 2:11 Heb. rephaim
  16. Deuteronomy 2:12 stead
  17. Deuteronomy 2:13 Wadi or Brook
  18. Deuteronomy 2:14 perished
  19. Deuteronomy 2:15 perished
  20. Deuteronomy 2:20 Heb. rephaim
  21. Deuteronomy 2:24 to take possession
  22. Deuteronomy 2:25 everywhere under the heavens
  23. Deuteronomy 2:33 Lit. before us
  24. Deuteronomy 3:3 struck
  25. Deuteronomy 3:11 Heb. rephaim
  26. Deuteronomy 3:13 Heb. rephaim
  27. Deuteronomy 3:14 Lit. Towns of Jair
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Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
Complete Jewish Bible

Parashah 44: D’varim (Words) 1:1–3:22

1 These are the words Moshe spoke to all Isra’el on the far side of the Yarden River, in the desert, in the ‘Aravah, across from Suf, between Pa’ran and Tofel, Lavan, Hatzerot and Di-Zahav. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horev to Kadesh-Barnea by way of Mount Se‘ir.

3 On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moshe spoke to the people of Isra’el, reviewing everything Adonai had ordered him to tell them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived in Heshbon, and ‘Og, king of Bashan, who lived in ‘Ashtarot, at Edre‘i. 5 There, beyond the Yarden, in the land of Mo’av, Moshe took it upon himself to expound this Torah and said:

6 “Adonai spoke to us in Horev. He said, ‘You have lived long enough by this mountain. 7 Turn, get moving and go to the hill-country of the Emori and all the places near there in the ‘Aravah, the hill-country, the Sh’felah, the Negev and by the seashore — the land of the Kena‘ani, and the L’vanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates River. 8 I have set the land before you! Go in, and take possession of the land Adonai swore to give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, and their descendants after them.’

9 “At that time I told you, ‘You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. 10 Adonai your God has multiplied your numbers, so that there are as many of you today as there are stars in the sky. 11 May Adonai, the God of your ancestors, increase you yet a thousandfold and bless you, as he has promised you! (ii) 12 But you are burdensome, bothersome and quarrelsome! How can I bear it by myself alone? 13 Pick for yourselves from each of your tribes men who are wise, understanding and knowledgeable; and I will make them heads over you.’

14 “You answered me, ‘What you have said would be a good thing for us to do.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, men wise and knowledgable, and made them heads over you — leaders in charge of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe. 16 At that time I commissioned your judges, ‘Hear the cases that arise between your brothers; and judge fairly between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is with him. 17 You are not to show favoritism when judging, but give equal attention to the small and to the great. No matter how a person presents himself, don’t be afraid of him; because the decision is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me and I will hear it.’ 18 I also gave you orders at that time concerning all the things you were to do.

19 “So we left Horev and went through all that vast and fearsome desert which you saw on the way to the hill-country of the Emori, as Adonai our God ordered us; and we arrived at Kadesh-Barnea. 20 There I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill-country of the Emori, which Adonai our God is giving to us. 21 Look! Adonai your God has placed the land before you. Go up, take possession, as Adonai, the God of your ancestors, has told you. Don’t be afraid, don’t be dismayed.’

(iii) 22 “You approached me, every one of you, and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us to explore the country for us and bring back word concerning what route we should use in going up and what the cities we will encounter are like.’ 23 The idea seemed good to me, so I took twelve of your men, one from each tribe; 24 and they set out, went up into the hills, came to the Eshkol Valley and reconnoitered it. 25 They took some of the produce of the land and brought it down to us; they also brought back word to us — ‘The land Adonai our God is giving to us is good.’

26 “But you would not go up. Instead you rebelled against the order of Adonai your God; 27 and in your tents you complained, ‘It’s because Adonai hated us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, only to hand us over to the Emori to destroy us. 28 What sort of place is it that we’re heading for? Our brothers made our courage fail when they said, “The people are bigger and taller than we are; the cities are great and fortified up to the sky; and finally, we have seen ‘Anakim there.”’

29 “I answered you, ‘Don’t be fearful, don’t be afraid of them. 30 Adonai your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight on your behalf, just as he accomplished all those things for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and likewise in the desert, where you saw how Adonai your God carried you, like a man carries his child, along the entire way you traveled until you arrived at this place. 32 Yet in this matter you don’t trust Adonai your God, 33 even though he went ahead of you, seeking out places for you to pitch your tents and showing you which way to go, by fire at night and by a cloud during the day.’

34 “Adonai heard what you were saying, became angry and swore, 35 ‘Not a single one of these people, this whole evil generation, will see the good land I swore to give to your ancestors, 36 except Kalev the son of Y’funeh — he will see it; I will give him and his descendants the land he walked on, because he has fully followed Adonai.’

37 “Also, because of you Adonai was angry with me and said, ‘You too will not go in there. 38 Y’hoshua the son of Nun, your assistant — he will go in there. So encourage him, because he will enable Isra’el to take possession of it. (iv) 39 Moreover, your little ones, who you said would be taken as booty, and your children who don’t yet know good from bad — they will go in there; I will give it to them, and they will have possession of it. 40 But as for yourselves, turn around and head into the desert by the road to the Sea of Suf.’

41 “Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against Adonai. Now we will go up and fight, in accordance with everything Adonai our God ordered us.’ And every man among you put on his arms, considering it an easy matter to go up into the hill-country. 42 But Adonai said to me, ‘Tell them, “Don’t go up, and don’t fight, because I am not there with you; if you do, your enemies will defeat you.”’ 43 So I told you, but you wouldn’t listen. Instead, you rebelled against Adonai’s order, took matters into your own hands and went up into the hill-country; 44 where the Emori living in that hill-country came out against you like bees, defeated you in Se‘ir and chased you back all the way to Hormah. 45 You returned and cried before Adonai, but Adonai neither listened to what you said nor paid you any attention. 46 This is why you had to stay in Kadesh as long as you did.

2 “Then we turned and began traveling into the desert along the road to the Sea of Suf, as Adonai had said to me; and we skirted Mount Se‘ir for a long time. (v) 2 Finally Adonai said to me, 3 ‘You have been going around this mountain long enough! Head north, 4 and give this order to the people: “You are to pass through the territory of your kinsmen the descendants of ‘Esav who live in Se‘ir. They will be afraid of you, so be very cautious, 5 and don’t get into disputes with them; for I am not going to give you any of their land, no, not even enough for one foot to stand on; inasmuch as I have given Mount Se‘ir to ‘Esav as his possession. 6 Pay them money for the food you eat, and pay them money for the water you drink. 7 For Adonai your God has blessed you in everything your hands have produced. He knows that you have been traveling through this vast desert; these forty years Adonai your God has been with you; and you have lacked nothing.’

8 “So we went on past our kinsmen the descendants of ‘Esav living in Se‘ir, left the road through the ‘Aravah from Eilat and ‘Etzyon-Gever, and turned to pass along the road through the desert of Mo’av. 9 Adonai said to me, ‘Don’t be hostile toward Mo’av or fight with them, because I will not give you any of their land to possess, since I have already given ‘Ar to the descendants of Lot as their territory.’” 10 (The Emim used to live there, a great and numerous people as tall as the ‘Anakim. 11 They are also considered Refa’im, as are the ‘Anakim, but the Mo’avim call them Emim. 12 In Se‘ir the Horim used to live, but the descendants of ‘Esav dispossessed and destroyed them, settling in their place. Isra’el did similarly in the land it came to possess, which Adonai gave to them.) 13 “‘Now get going, and cross Vadi Zered!’

“So we crossed Vadi Zered. 14 The time between our leaving Kadesh-Barnea and our crossing Vadi Zered was thirty-eight years — until the whole generation of men capable of bearing arms had been eliminated from the camp, as Adonai had sworn they would be. 15 Moreover, Adonai’s hand was against them to root them out of the camp until the last of them was gone. 16 When all the men who were able to bear arms had died and were no longer part of the people, 17 Adonai said to me, 18 ‘Today you are to cross the border of Mo’av at ‘Ar. 19 When you approach the descendants of ‘Amon, don’t bother them or fight with them, for I will not give you any of the territory of the people of ‘Amon to possess, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their territory.’”

20 (This too is considered a land of the Refa’im: Refa’im, whom the Emori call Zamzumim, used to live there. 21 They were a large, numerous people, as tall as the ‘Anakim; but Adonai destroyed them as the people of ‘Amon advanced and settled in their place — 22 just as he destroyed the Horim as descendants of ‘Esav advanced into Se‘ir and settled in their place, where they live to this day. 23 It was the same with the ‘Avim, who lived in villages as far away as ‘Azah — the Kaftorim, coming from Kaftor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)

24 “‘Get up, get moving, and cross the Arnon Valley! Here, I have put in your hands Sichon the Emori, king of Heshbon, and his land; commence the conquest, begin the battle! 25 Today I will start putting the fear and dread of you into all the peoples under heaven, so that the mere mention of your name will make them quake and tremble before you.’

26 “I sent envoys from the K’demot Desert to Sichon king of Heshbon with a peaceable message, 27 ‘Let me pass through your land. I will keep to the road, turning neither right nor left. 28 You will sell me food to eat for money and give me water to drink for money. I only want to pass through. 29 Do as the people of ‘Esav living in Se‘ir and the Mo’avim living in ‘Ar did with me, until I cross the Yarden into the land Adonai our God is giving us.’

30 “But Sichon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through his territory, because Adonai your God had hardened his spirit and made him stubborn, so that he could hand him over to you, as is the case today. (vi) 31 Adonai said to me, ‘See, I have begun handing over Sichon and his territory before you; start taking possession of his land.’ 32 Then Sichon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Yahatz; 33 and Adonai our God handed him over to us, so that we defeated him, his sons and all his people. 34 At that time we captured all his cities and completely destroyed every city — men, women, little ones — we left none of them. 35 As booty for ourselves we took only the cattle, along with the spoil from the cities we had captured. 36 From ‘Aro‘er, on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and from the city in the valley, all the way to Gil‘ad, there was not one city too well fortified for us to capture — Adonai our God gave all of them to us. 37 The only land you didn’t approach was that of the descendants of ‘Amon — the region around the Yabok River, the cities in the hills and wherever else Adonai our God forbade us to go.

3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and ‘Og the king of Bashan came out against us with all his people to fight at Edre‘i. 2 Adonai said to me, ‘Don’t be afraid of him; for I have handed him, all his people and his territory over to you; you will do to him as you did to Sichon king of the Emori, who lived at Heshbon.’ 3 So Adonai our God also handed over to us ‘Og the king of Bashan with all his people, and we defeated him until he had no one left. 4 At that time we captured all his cities; there was not one city of theirs that we didn’t capture. There were sixty cities, all the region of Argov, the kingdom of ‘Og in Bashan; 5 all of them fortified cities with high walls, gates and bars — in addition to a great number of unwalled towns. 6 We completely destroyed them, as we did with Sichon king of Heshbon, annihilating every city —men, women and little ones. 7 But we took all the livestock, along with the spoil from the cities, as booty for ourselves.

8 “At that time we captured the territory of the two kings of the Emori east of the Yarden between the Arnon Valley and Mount Hermon,” 9 the Hermon which the Tzidonim call Siryon and the Emori call S’nir, 10 “all the cities of the plain, all Gil‘ad and all Bashan, as far as Salkhah and Edre‘i, cities of the kingdom of ‘Og in Bashan.” 11 ‘Og king of Bashan was the last survivor of the Refa’im. His bed was made of iron; it is still in Rabbah with the people of ‘Amon. It was nine cubits long and four cubits wide, using the normal cubit [thirteen-and-a-half by six feet].

12 “Of this land that we took possession of then, I assigned to the Re’uveni and the Gadi the territory extending from ‘Aro‘er along the Arnon Valley together with half the hill-country of Gil‘ad, including its cities. 13 The rest of Gil‘ad and all Bashan, the kingdom of ‘Og, I gave to the half-tribe of M’nasheh.”

The whole region of Argov together with all of Bashan form what is called the land of Refa’im. 14 Ya’ir the son of M’nasheh took all the region of Argov, as far as the border with the G’shuri and the Ma‘akhati; he named this whole area, including Bashan, after himself — it remains Havot-Ya’ir to this day.

(vii) 15 “I gave Gil‘ad to Machir; 16 and to the Re’uveni and the Gadi I gave the territory from Gil‘ad to the Arnon Valley, with the middle of the valley as the border, as far as the Yabok River, which is the border with the people of ‘Amon; 17 the ‘Aravah too, the Yarden being its border, from Kinneret to the Sea of the ‘Aravah, the Dead Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah to the east.

18 “At that time I gave you this order: ‘Adonai your God has given you this land to possess. But all of you who are fit to fight must cross over, armed, ahead of your brothers the people of Isra’el. 19 Your wives, your little ones and your livestock — I know you have much livestock — will stay in your cities which I have given you, (Maftir) 20 until Adonai allows your brothers to rest, as he has allowed you; and they too take possession of the land Adonai your God is giving them on the west side of the Yarden. At that point you will return, each man to his own possession which I have given you.’

21 “Also at that time I gave this order to Y’hoshua: ‘Your eyes have seen everything that Adonai your God has done to these two kings. Adonai will do the same to all the kingdoms you encounter when you cross over. 22 Don’t be afraid of them, because Adonai your God will fight on your behalf.’

Haftarah D’varim: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 1:1–27

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah D’varim: Yochanan (John) 15:1–11; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 3:7–4:11

Listen to Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
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Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
New International Version

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan(A)—that is, in the Arabah(B)—opposite Suph, between Paran(C) and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb(D) to Kadesh Barnea(E) by the Mount Seir(F) road.)(G)

3 In the fortieth year,(H) on the first day of the eleventh month,(I) Moses proclaimed(J) to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon(K) king of the Amorites,(L) who reigned in Heshbon,(M) and at Edrei had defeated Og(N) king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.(O)

5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab,(P) Moses began to expound this law, saying:

6 The Lord our God said to us(Q) at Horeb,(R) “You have stayed long enough(S) at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites;(T) go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah,(U) in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev(V) and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites(W) and to Lebanon,(X) as far as the great river, the Euphrates.(Y) 8 See, I have given you this land(Z).(AA) Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore(AB) he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

The Appointment of Leaders

9 At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden(AC) for me to carry alone.(AD) 10 The Lord your God has increased(AE) your numbers(AF) so that today you are as numerous(AG) as the stars in the sky.(AH) 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase(AI) you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!(AJ) 12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?(AK) 13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men(AL) from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”

14 You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.”

15 So I took(AM) the leading men of your tribes,(AN) wise and respected men,(AO) and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders(AP) of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.(AQ) 16 And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge(AR) fairly,(AS) whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you.(AT) 17 Do not show partiality(AU) in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone,(AV) for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.”(AW) 18 And at that time I told you everything you were to do.(AX)

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(AY) through all that vast and dreadful wilderness(AZ) that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.(BA) 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(BB) of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid;(BC) do not be discouraged.”(BD)

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy(BE) out the land(BF) 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(BG) 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(BH) and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,(BI) “It is a good land(BJ) that the Lord our God is giving us.”(BK)

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up;(BL) you rebelled(BM) against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled(BN) 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(BO) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites(BP) there.’”

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid(BQ) of them.(BR) 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight(BS) 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(BT) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”(BU)

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

34 When the Lord heard(BZ) what you said, he was angry(CA) and solemnly swore:(CB) 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land(CC) I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb(CD) 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.(CE)”

37 Because of you the Lord became angry(CF) with me also and said, “You shall not enter(CG) it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua(CH) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage(CI) him, because he will lead(CJ) Israel to inherit(CK) it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,(CL) your children who do not yet know(CM) 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](CN)”

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.’”(CO)

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(CP) and beat you down from Seir(CQ) all the way to Hormah.(CR) 45 You came back and wept before the Lord,(CS) but he paid no attention(CT) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear(CU) to you. 46 And so you stayed in Kadesh(CV) 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](CW) as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.(CX)

2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;(CY) now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders:(CZ) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau,(DA) who live in Seir.(DB) They will be afraid(DC) 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.(DD) 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(DE) over your journey through this vast wilderness.(DF) These forty years(DG) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.(DH)

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

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(DM) to the descendants of Lot(DN) as a possession.”

10 (The Emites(DO) used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(DP) 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites,(DQ) but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites(DR) 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(DS) in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

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

14 Thirty-eight years(DU) passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea(DV) until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation(DW) of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.(DX) 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated(DY) them from the camp.

16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.(DZ) 19 When you come to the Ammonites,(EA) do not harass them or provoke them to war,(EB) for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.(EC)”

20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites,(ED) who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(EE) The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir,(EF) when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites(EG) who lived in villages as far as Gaza,(EH) the Caphtorites(EI) coming out from Caphtor[c](EJ) destroyed them and settled in their place.)

Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

24 “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge.(EK) See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite,(EL) king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage(EM) him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror(EN) and fear(EO) of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble(EP) and be in anguish because of you.”

26 From the Desert of Kedemoth(EQ) I sent messengers to Sihon(ER) king of Heshbon offering peace(ES) and saying, 27 “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.(ET) 28 Sell us food to eat(EU) and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot(EV)— 29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.” 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord(EW) your God had made his spirit stubborn(EX) and his heart obstinate(EY) in order to give him into your hands,(EZ) as he has now done.

31 The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”(FA)

32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle(FB) at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered(FC) him over to us and we struck him down,(FD) together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed[d](FE) them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock(FF) and the plunder(FG) from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer(FH) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead,(FI) not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave(FJ) us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God,(FK) you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites,(FL) neither the land along the course of the Jabbok(FM) nor that around the towns in the hills.

Defeat of Og King of Bashan

3 Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan(FN) with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.(FO) 2 The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid(FP) of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

3 So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down,(FQ) leaving no survivors.(FR) 4 At that time we took all his cities.(FS) There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom(FT) in Bashan.(FU) 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. 6 We completely destroyed[e] them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying[f](FV) every city—men, women and children. 7 But all the livestock(FW) and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

8 So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites(FX) the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.(FY) 9 (Hermon is called Sirion(FZ) by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)(GA) 10 We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah(GB) and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites.(GC) His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide.[g] It is still in Rabbah(GD) of the Ammonites.)

Division of the Land

12 Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer(GE) by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. 13 The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh.(GF) (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.(GG) 14 Jair,(GH) a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites;(GI) it was named(GJ) after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.[h]) 15 And I gave Gilead to Makir.(GK) 16 But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River,(GL) which is the border of the Ammonites. 17 Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah,(GM) from Kinnereth(GN) to the Sea of the Arabah(GO) (that is, the Dead Sea(GP)), below the slopes of Pisgah.

18 I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given(GQ) you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites.(GR) 19 However, your wives,(GS) your children and your livestock(GT) (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid(GU) of them;(GV) the Lord your God himself will fight(GW) for you.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:40 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Deuteronomy 2:1 Or the Sea of Reeds
  3. Deuteronomy 2:23 That is, Crete
  4. Deuteronomy 2:34 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  5. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  6. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  7. Deuteronomy 3:11 That is, about 14 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 4 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  8. Deuteronomy 3:14 Or called the settlements of Jair
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