Add parallel Print Page Options

Preamble

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. It is a journey of eleven days[d] from Herob by the way of Mount Seir[e] up to Kadesh Barnea.

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. 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. On the other side of [k] the Jordan in the land of Moab Moses began to explain this law,[l] saying:[m]

Historical Prologue

“Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying,[n] ‘You have stayed long enough[o] at this mountain. 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. 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.’

“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

  1. Deuteronomy 1:1 Literally “in the beyond of
  2. Deuteronomy 1:1 Or “the wilderness”
  3. Deuteronomy 1:1 Or “desert plain”; others render this as a named location, “Arabah”
  4. Deuteronomy 1:2 Literally “one and ten days”
  5. Deuteronomy 1:2 Literally “by the mountain of Seir”
  6. Deuteronomy 1:3 Literally “and it happened” or “and then”
  7. Deuteronomy 1:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  8. Deuteronomy 1:4 Literally “after he had struck down”
  9. Deuteronomy 1:4 Or “dwelling,” and in this context “reigning”
  10. Deuteronomy 1:4 Or “dwelling,” and in this context “reigning”
  11. Deuteronomy 1:5 Literally “in the beyond of
  12. Deuteronomy 1:5 Hebrew torah
  13. Deuteronomy 1:5 Literally “to say”
  14. Deuteronomy 1:6 Literally “to say”
  15. Deuteronomy 1:6 Literally “much time
  16. Deuteronomy 1:7 Literally “journey on with respect to yourselves” or “move yourselves out”
  17. Deuteronomy 1:7 Hebrew “Amorite”
  18. Deuteronomy 1:7 Or “peoples”
  19. Deuteronomy 1:7 Literally “Arabah,” arid stretches of land.
  20. Deuteronomy 1:7 Hebrew “Canaanite”
  21. Deuteronomy 1:8 Literally “before your face”
  22. Deuteronomy 1:8 Or “fathers”
  23. Deuteronomy 1:9 Literally “to say”
  24. Deuteronomy 1:10 Literally “with respect to multitude/abundance”
  25. Deuteronomy 1:11 Or “fathers”
  26. Deuteronomy 1:11 Literally “spoke to you”
  27. Deuteronomy 1:12 Literally “to me alone”
  28. Deuteronomy 1:13 Literally “men wise and discerning and knowledgeable”
  29. Deuteronomy 1:16 Literally “hear between your brothers,” with the idea of listening carefully in this context
  30. Deuteronomy 1:16 Or “righteously”
  31. Deuteronomy 1:16 Literally “between his resident alien/non-Israelite who dwells temporarily among Israel”
  32. Deuteronomy 1:17 Literally “recognize faces”
  33. Deuteronomy 1:17 Literally “in the process of rendering a judgment”
  34. Deuteronomy 1:17 Literally “do not fear before the faces of any man”
  35. Deuteronomy 1:17 Or “hard”
  36. Deuteronomy 1:19 Hebrew “Amorite”
  37. Deuteronomy 1:20 Literally “You have come up to”
  38. Deuteronomy 1:20 Hebrew “Amorite”
  39. Deuteronomy 1:21 Or “fathers”
  40. Deuteronomy 1:22 Literally “before our faces” or “ahead of us”
  41. Deuteronomy 1:22 Literally “a word”
  42. Deuteronomy 1:22 Literally “we should go up by it”
  43. Deuteronomy 1:23 Literally “in my eyes”
  44. Deuteronomy 1:23 Literally “man one from the tribe”
  45. Deuteronomy 1:24 Literally “turned”
  46. Deuteronomy 1:24 Literally “went up toward the hill country mountain”
  47. Deuteronomy 1:24 A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  48. Deuteronomy 1:25 Hebrew “hand”
  49. Deuteronomy 1:25 Literally “from the fruit”
  50. Deuteronomy 1:25 Literally “a word”
  51. Deuteronomy 1:26 Literally “mouth”
  52. Deuteronomy 1:27 Hebrew “Amorite”
  53. Deuteronomy 1:28 Literally “caused to melt our hearts”
  54. Deuteronomy 1:28 Literally “to say”
  55. Deuteronomy 1:28 Or “bigger”
  56. Deuteronomy 1:28 Hebrew “than us”
  57. Deuteronomy 1:30 Literally “to your faces”
  58. Deuteronomy 1:30 The Hebrew pronoun indicates emphasis
  59. Deuteronomy 1:30 Literally “like all that”
  60. Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “desert”
  61. Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “where”
  62. Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “how”
  63. Deuteronomy 1:31 Or “a man”
  64. Deuteronomy 1:31 Literally “you came”
  65. Deuteronomy 1:33 Literally “is the one going”
  66. Deuteronomy 1:33 Literally “before your faces”
  67. Deuteronomy 1:33 Hebrew “the”
  68. Deuteronomy 1:33 Literally “you should go in it”
  69. Deuteronomy 1:34 Literally “to say”
  70. 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
  71. Deuteronomy 1:35 Or “fathers”
  72. Deuteronomy 1:36 Emphatic use of the pronoun
  73. Deuteronomy 1:36 Or “descendants”
  74. Deuteronomy 1:36 Literally “he filled his hands after Yahweh”
  75. Deuteronomy 1:38 Literally “the one standing before you”
  76. Deuteronomy 1:39 The Hebrew pronoun is used for emphasis
  77. Deuteronomy 1:40 Literally “sea of reeds”
  78. Deuteronomy 1:41 Literally “his vessels of battle”
  79. Deuteronomy 1:42 Literally “in the faces of your enemies”
  80. Deuteronomy 1:43 Literally “mouth of Yahweh”
  81. Deuteronomy 1:44 Literally “to meet you”
  82. Deuteronomy 1:44 Literally “cut”
  83. Deuteronomy 1:45 Literally “before the faces of Yahweh”

The Command to Leave Horeb

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. (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb(D) to Kadesh Barnea(E) by the Mount Seir(F) road.)(G)

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. 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)

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

The Lord our God said to us(Q) at Horeb,(R) “You have stayed long enough(S) at this mountain. 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) 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

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.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:40 Or the Sea of Reeds