26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God:

27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

29 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

30 The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

31 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God,

33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers.

36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.

37 Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.

38 But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

41 Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

42 And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them. Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

45 And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

And the Lord spake unto me, saying,

Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up;(A) you rebelled(B) against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled(C) 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(D) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites(E) there.’”

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

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

34 When the Lord heard(O) what you said, he was angry(P) and solemnly swore:(Q) 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land(R) I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb(S) 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.(T)

37 Because of you the Lord became angry(U) with me also and said, “You shall not enter(V) it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua(W) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage(X) him, because he will lead(Y) Israel to inherit(Z) it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,(AA) your children who do not yet know(AB) 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](AC)

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.’”(AD)

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(AE) and beat you down from Seir(AF) all the way to Hormah.(AG) 45 You came back and wept before the Lord,(AH) but he paid no attention(AI) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear(AJ) to you. 46 And so you stayed in Kadesh(AK) many days—all the time you spent there.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

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

Then the Lord said to me, “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;(AN) now turn north. Give the people these orders:(AO) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau,(AP) who live in Seir.(AQ) They will be afraid(AR) of you, but be very careful. 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.(AS) You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched(AT) over your journey through this vast wilderness.(AU) These forty years(AV) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.(AW)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:40 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Deuteronomy 2:1 Or the Sea of Reeds