Deuteronomy 1:39-2:1

English Standard Version

³⁹And as for ^(A)your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today ^(B)have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. ⁴⁰But as for you, ^(C)turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’

⁴¹“Then you answered me, ^(D)‘We have sinned against the Lord. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. ⁴²And the Lord said to me, ^(E)‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, ^(F)for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ ⁴³So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and ^(G)presumptuously went up into the hill country. ⁴⁴^(H)Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you ^(I)as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as ^(J)Hormah. ⁴⁵And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. ⁴⁶So ^(K)you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.

The Wilderness Years

2 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, ^(L)as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir.