Deuteronomy 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the area beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di Zahab on the other.
2 (It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)
3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel everything that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and he had defeated Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.[a] 5 In the area east of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses took on the task of explaining clearly this law[b] as follows. This is what he said:
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb. He said, “You have stayed at this mountain long enough. 7 Turn in the other direction, start traveling, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the people living in the Arabah,[c] in the hill country,[d] in the Shephelah,[e] and in the Negev,[f] and in the coastland by the sea (the land of the Canaanites) and the Lebanon range, up to the Great River (the River Euphrates). 8 Look now, I have given you the land that is ahead of you. Go and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, promising to give it to them and to their descendants after them.”
9 So I said to you at that time, “I am not able to carry you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has increased your number, and here you are today, as numerous as the stars in the heavens. 11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, add to you a thousand times as many as you are now, and may he bless you, just as he promised you. 12 But how can I manage by myself to carry the burden that you have become and the load that you are—especially your disputes? 13 Provide for yourselves, tribe by tribe, men who are wise and perceptive and with known ability, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”
14 Then you answered me, “What you propose to do is good.” 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, men who were wise and of known ability, and I appointed them as heads over you, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and commanders of fifties and commanders of tens, as well as officers for your tribes.
16 I gave these orders to your judges at that time: “Listen to disputes among your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother Israelite, as well as with the alien who resides with him. 17 Do not show partiality in judgment. Provide a hearing for the small and the great alike. Do not be motivated by fear of any person, because judgment belongs to God. Any case that is too difficult for you, bring it before me and I will hear it.” 18 So I gave you orders at that time about everything that you should do.
19 Then we journeyed from Horeb, and we walked through that whole vast and terrifying wilderness that you saw on the road to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God had commanded us to do. When we came to Kadesh Barnea, 20 I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 Look now, the Lord your God has given you the land ahead of you. Go up, take possession of it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you. Do not be afraid and do not be overwhelmed.”
22 Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send out some of our men so that they can scout the land for us and bring us a report about the route that we should take and the cities that we will reach.”
23 The plan seemed good to me, so I selected from you twelve men, one man from each tribe. 24 They set out and went up to the hill country and came to the area of the Valley of Eshcol and spied on it. 25 They took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it back to us and brought us a report that said, “The land that the Lord our God is giving us is good.”
26 Still you were not willing to go up, and you rebelled against the order of the Lord your God. 27 You complained in your tents and said, “Because the Lord hates us, he brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us. 28 Where are we going? Our brothers have made our hearts melt by saying, ‘People there are stronger and taller than we are! There are large cities with fortified walls up to the skies! Also, we have seen the descendants of Anak there!’”
29 So I said to you, “Do not be overwhelmed and do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight for you, exactly as he did for you in Egypt, right before your very eyes, 31 and just as he did in the wilderness, where you saw that the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son, on the entire way that you walked until you came to this place.” 32 Yet even with this, you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on the journey to search out a place for you to camp. He showed you the way that you should travel, by fire during the night and by a cloud during the day.
34 When the Lord heard the tone of your words, he was angry, and he swore an oath: 35 “Not one of these people from this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give the land on which he walked to him and his children, because he has fully followed the Lord.” 37 The Lord was angry with me too because of you. He said, “You also will not enter there. 38 Joshua son of Nun, who is standing before you, will enter there. Strengthen him, because he will lead Israel to possess it. 39 Your toddlers, who you said would become plunder of war, and your children, who today do not yet know good and evil, will enter there. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But you, turn around and travel into the wilderness toward the Red Sea.”[g]
41 Then you answered me, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us to do.” So each man among you strapped on his weapons of war, and you thought it would be easy to go up to the hill country.
42 But the Lord instructed me: “Say to them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be among you to keep you from being struck down by your enemies.’” 43 So I spoke to you, but you did not listen. You rebelled against the command of the Lord and acted presumptuously by going up to the hill country anyway. 44 Then the Amorites living in the hill country went out to meet you. They pursued you like bees, and they struck you down in Seir all the way to Hormah. 45 Then you returned and you cried out before the Lord, but the Lord did not pay attention to the noise you made. He did not listen to you. 46 So you stayed in Kadesh many days—those well-known days that you stayed there.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 1:4 Or and in Edrei. The word and is present in the ancient versions and in Joshua 12:4.
- Deuteronomy 1:5 The Hebrew word torah, traditionally translated law, includes other types of instruction besides laws.
- Deuteronomy 1:7 The Arabah is the Great Rift of the Jordan Valley.
- Deuteronomy 1:7 The Hebrew is literally the mountain. The translation retains the traditional rendering hill country for the highland regions of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Shephelah, which means “pressed down region,” is the name for the foothills west of the hill country of Judah.
- Deuteronomy 1:7 The Negev is the arid region in the southern part of Judah.
- Deuteronomy 1:40 Hebrew Sea of Reeds. In this case it refers to the Gulf of Aqaba.
Deuteronomy 1
Lexham English Bible
Preamble
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all of Israel on the other side of[a] the Jordan in the desert,[b] in the desert plateau[c] opposite Suph, between Paran and between Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 It is a journey of eleven days[d] from Herob by the way of Mount Seir[e] up to Kadesh Barnea.
3 And it was[f] in the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the Israelites[g] according to all that Yahweh had instructed him to speak to them. 4 This happened after defeating[h] Sihon king of the Amorites, who was reigning[i] in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who was reigning[j] in Ashtaroth in Edrei. 5 On the other side of [k] the Jordan in the land of Moab Moses began to explain this law,[l] saying:[m]
Historical Prologue
6 “Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying,[n] ‘You have stayed long enough[o] at this mountain. 7 Turn now and move on,[p] and go into the hill of the Amorites[q] and to all of the neighboring regions[r] in the Jordan Valley[s] in the hill country and in the Negev and in the coastal area along the sea, into the land of the Canaanites[t] and into the Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates. 8 Look, I have set the land before you;[u] go and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[v] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it to them and to their offspring after them.’
9 “And I spoke to them at that time, saying,[w] ‘I am not able to bear you alone. 10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and look; you are today as the stars of the heaven in number.[x] 11 Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[y] may he add to you as you are now a thousand times, and may he bless you just as he promised you.[z] 12 How can I bear you by myself,[aa] your burden and your load and your strife? 13 Choose for yourselves wise and discerning and knowledgeable men[ab] for each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’
14 “And you answered me, and you said, ‘The thing you have said to do is good.’ 15 And so I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and then I appointed them as leaders over you as commanders of groups of thousands and commanders of groups of hundreds and commanders of groups of fifties and commanders of groups of tens as officials for your tribes. 16 And at that time I instructed your judges, saying, ‘hear out your fellow men,[ac] and then judge fairly[ad] between a man and between his brother and between his opponent who is a resident alien.[ae] 17 You must not be partial[af] in your judgment; [ag] hear out the small person as also the great person; do not be intimidated by any person,[ah] because the judgment is God’s; and the case that is too difficult[ai] for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it out.’ 18 And so I instructed you at that time concerning all of the things that you should do.
19 “Then we set out from Horeb, and we went through the whole of that great and terrible desert that you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites[aj] as Yahweh our God had commanded us, and so we came up to Kadesh Barnea. 20 I said to you, ‘You have reached[ak] the hill country of the Amorites[al] that Yahweh our God is giving to us. 21 See, Yahweh your God has set before you the land; go up and possess it as Yahweh the God of your ancestors[am] said to you; do not fear and do not be dismayed.’
22 “Then all of you approached me, and you said, ‘Let us send men before us,[an] and let them explore the land for us, and let them bring back a report[ao] to us concerning the way that we should take[ap] and concerning the cities that we shall come to.’ 23 The plan was good in my opinion,[aq] and so I took from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.[ar] 24 And they set out[as] and went up into the hill country,[at] and they went up to the wadi[au] of Eschol, and they spied out the land. 25 They took in their hands[av] some of the fruit[aw] of the land, and they brought it down to us, and they brought to us back a report,[ax] and they said, ‘The land that Yahweh our God is giving to us is good.’ 26 But you were not willing to go up, and you rebelled against the command[ay] of Yahweh your God. 27 And you grumbled in your tents, and you said, ‘Because of the hatred of Yahweh toward us he has brought us out from the land of Egypt to give us into the hand of the Amorites[az] to destroy us. 28 Where can we go up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt,[ba] saying,[bb] “The people are greater[bc] and taller than we are,[bd] and there are great fortified cities reaching up to heaven, and we saw the sons of the Anakites living there.”’
29 “And so I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, and do not fear them. 30 Yahweh your God, who is going before you,[be] will himself[bf] fight for you, just as[bg] he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and just as he did in the wilderness[bh] when[bi] you saw that[bj] Yahweh your God carried you, just as someone[bk] carries his son, all along the way that you traveled until you reached[bl] this place.’ 32 But through all of this you did not trust in Yahweh your God, 33 who goes[bm] before you[bn] on your[bo] way, seeking a place for your encampment, in fire at night and in a cloud by day, to show you the way that you should go.[bp]
34 “Then Yahweh heard the sound of your words, and he was angry, and he swore, saying,[bq] 35 ‘No one of these men[br] of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,[bs] 36 except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; he himself[bt] shall see it, and to him I will give the land upon which he has trodden and to his sons[bu] because he followed Yahweh unreservedly.’[bv] 37 Even with me Yahweh was angry because of you, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there. 38 Joshua, the son of Nun, your assistant,[bw] will go there; encourage him because he will cause Israel to inherit it. 39 And your little children, who you thought shall become plunder, and your sons, who do not today know good or bad, shall themselves[bx] go there, and I will give it to them, and they shall take possession of it. 40 But you turn and set out in the direction of the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.’[by]
41 “You replied and said to me, ‘We have sinned against Yahweh, and now we will go up and fight according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us’; and so each man fastened on his battle gear,[bz] and you regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country. 42 So Yahweh said to me, ‘Say to them, “You shall not go up, and you shall not fight because I am not in your midst; you will be defeated before[ca] your enemies.”’ 43 So I spoke to you, but you did not listen; you rebelled against the command of Yahweh;[cb] you behaved presumptuously, and you went up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites living in the hill country went out to oppose you[cc] and chased you as a swarm of wild honey bees do; and so they beat[cd] you down in Seir as far as Hormah. 45 So you returned and wept before Yahweh;[ce] but Yahweh did not listen to your voice and did not pay any attention to you. 46 You stayed in Kadesh many days; such were the days that you stayed there.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 1:1 Literally “in the beyond of”
- Deuteronomy 1:1 Or “the wilderness”
- Deuteronomy 1:1 Or “desert plain”; others render this as a named location, “Arabah”
- Deuteronomy 1:2 Literally “one and ten days”
- Deuteronomy 1:2 Literally “by the mountain of Seir”
- Deuteronomy 1:3 Literally “and it happened” or “and then”
- Deuteronomy 1:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 1:4 Literally “after he had struck down”
- Deuteronomy 1:4 Or “dwelling,” and in this context “reigning”
- Deuteronomy 1:4 Or “dwelling,” and in this context “reigning”
- Deuteronomy 1:5 Literally “in the beyond of”
- Deuteronomy 1:5 Hebrew torah
- Deuteronomy 1:5 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 1:6 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 1:6 Literally “much time”
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Literally “journey on with respect to yourselves” or “move yourselves out”
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Or “peoples”
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Literally “Arabah,” arid stretches of land.
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Deuteronomy 1:8 Literally “before your face”
- Deuteronomy 1:8 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 1:9 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 1:10 Literally “with respect to multitude/abundance”
- Deuteronomy 1:11 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 1:11 Literally “spoke to you”
- Deuteronomy 1:12 Literally “to me alone”
- Deuteronomy 1:13 Literally “men wise and discerning and knowledgeable”
- Deuteronomy 1:16 Literally “hear between your brothers,” with the idea of listening carefully in this context
- Deuteronomy 1:16 Or “righteously”
- Deuteronomy 1:16 Literally “between his resident alien/non-Israelite who dwells temporarily among Israel”
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Literally “recognize faces”
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Literally “in the process of rendering a judgment”
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Literally “do not fear before the faces of any man”
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Or “hard”
- Deuteronomy 1:19 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Deuteronomy 1:20 Literally “You have come up to”
- Deuteronomy 1:20 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Deuteronomy 1:21 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 1:22 Literally “before our faces” or “ahead of us”
- Deuteronomy 1:22 Literally “a word”
- Deuteronomy 1:22 Literally “we should go up by it”
- Deuteronomy 1:23 Literally “in my eyes”
- Deuteronomy 1:23 Literally “man one from the tribe”
- Deuteronomy 1:24 Literally “turned”
- Deuteronomy 1:24 Literally “went up toward the hill country mountain”
- Deuteronomy 1:24 A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
- Deuteronomy 1:25 Hebrew “hand”
- Deuteronomy 1:25 Literally “from the fruit”
- Deuteronomy 1:25 Literally “a word”
- Deuteronomy 1:26 Literally “mouth”
- Deuteronomy 1:27 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Deuteronomy 1:28 Literally “caused to melt our hearts”
- Deuteronomy 1:28 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 1:28 Or “bigger”
- Deuteronomy 1:28 Hebrew “than us”
- Deuteronomy 1:30 Literally “to your faces”
- Deuteronomy 1:30 The Hebrew pronoun indicates emphasis
- Deuteronomy 1:30 Literally “like all that”
- Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “desert”
- Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “where”
- Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “how”
- Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “a man”
- Deuteronomy 1:31 Literally “you came”
- Deuteronomy 1:33 Literally “is the one going”
- Deuteronomy 1:33 Literally “before your faces”
- Deuteronomy 1:33 Hebrew “the”
- Deuteronomy 1:33 Literally “you should go in it”
- Deuteronomy 1:34 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 1:35 The beginning of an oath in Hebrew; the text emphatically denies anyone of that evil generation the privilege of seeing the promised land
- Deuteronomy 1:35 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 1:36 Emphatic use of the pronoun
- Deuteronomy 1:36 Or “descendants”
- Deuteronomy 1:36 Literally “he filled his hands after Yahweh”
- Deuteronomy 1:38 Literally “the one standing before you”
- Deuteronomy 1:39 The Hebrew pronoun is used for emphasis
- Deuteronomy 1:40 Literally “sea of reeds”
- Deuteronomy 1:41 Literally “his vessels of battle”
- Deuteronomy 1:42 Literally “in the faces of your enemies”
- Deuteronomy 1:43 Literally “mouth of Yahweh”
- Deuteronomy 1:44 Literally “to meet you”
- Deuteronomy 1:44 Literally “cut”
- Deuteronomy 1:45 Literally “before the faces of Yahweh”
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