Deuteronomy 1
Common English Bible
The first heading: Introducing Deuteronomy
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan River, in the desert, on the plain across from Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. (2 It is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea along the Mount Seir route.) 3 It was in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses spoke to the Israelites precisely what the Lord had commanded him for them. (4 This was after the defeat of Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and Og, Bashan’s king, who ruled in Ashtaroth and[a] Edrei.) 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this Instruction. He said the following:
Leaving Mount Horeb
6 At Horeb, the Lord our God told us: You’ve been at this mountain long enough. 7 Get going! Enter the hills of the Amorites and the surrounding areas in the desert, the highlands, the lowlands, the arid southern region, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites—and the Lebanon range, all the way to the great Euphrates River. 8 Look, I have laid the land before you. Go and possess the land that I[b] promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as to their descendants after them.
9 At that same time, I told you: I can’t handle all of you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied your number—you are now as countless as the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, your ancestors’ God, continue to multiply you—a thousand times more! And may God bless you, just as he promised. 12 But how can I handle all your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself? 13 Now, for each of your tribes, choose wise, discerning, and well-regarded individuals. I will appoint them as your leaders.
14 You answered me: “What you have proposed is a good idea.”
15 So I took leading individuals from your tribes, people who were wise and well-regarded, and I set them up as your leaders. There were commanders over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, as well as officials for each of your tribes.
16 At that same time, I commanded your judges: Listen to your fellow tribe members and judge fairly, whether the dispute is between one fellow tribe member or between a tribe member and an immigrant. 17 Don’t show favoritism in a decision. Hear both sides out, whether the person is important or not. Don’t be afraid of anyone because the ruling belongs to God. Any dispute that is too difficult for you to decide, bring to me and I will take care of it.
18 So at that time, I commanded you concerning everything you were to do.
The spy disaster
19 We left Horeb and journeyed through that vast and terrifying desert you saw, on the way to the hills of the Amorites, exactly as the Lord our God commanded us. Then we arrived at Kadesh-barnea. 20 I said to you: You have come to the hills of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving to us. 21 Look! The Lord your God has laid out the land before you. Go up and take it, just as the Lord, your ancestors’ God, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be frightened!
22 Then all of you approached me, saying, “Let’s send spies ahead of us—they can check out the land for us. Then they can return with word about the route we should use and bring a report about the cities that we’ll be entering.”
23 This idea seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men, one from each tribe. 24 These set out and went up into the hills, going as far as the Cluster[c] ravine. They walked all around that area. 25 They took some of the land’s fruit and then came back down to us. They reported to us: “The land that the Lord our God is giving to us is wonderful!” 26 But you weren’t willing to go up. You rejected the Lord your God’s instruction. 27 You complained in your tents, saying things like, “The Lord hates us! That’s why he brought us out of Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us! 28 What are we doing? Our brothers have made our hearts sick by saying, ‘People far stronger and much taller than we live there, and the cities are huge, with walls sky-high! Worse still, we saw the descendants of the Anakites there!’”
29 But I said to you: Don’t be terrified! Don’t be afraid of them! 30 The Lord your God is going before you. He will fight for you just as he fought for you in Egypt while you watched, 31 and as you saw him do in the desert. Throughout your entire journey, until you reached this very place, the Lord your God has carried you just as a parent carries a child.
32 But you had no faith in the Lord your God about this matter, 33 even though he went ahead of you, scouting places where you should camp, in fire by night, so you could see the road you were taking, and in cloud during the daytime.
34 The Lord heard what you said. He was angry and he swore: 35 Not even one of these people—this wicked generation!—will see the wonderful land that I promised to give to your ancestors. 36 The only exception is Caleb, Jephunneh’s son. He will see it. I will give the land he walked on to him and his children for this reason: he was completely devoted to the Lord.
(37 The Lord was even angry with me because of what you did. “You won’t enter the land either,” God said. 38 “But Nun’s son Joshua, your assistant, will enter it. Strengthen him because he’s the one who will help Israel inherit the land.”)
39 Now as for your toddlers, those you said would be taken in war, and your young children who don’t yet know right and wrong—they will enter the land. I will give it to them. They will possess it! 40 But you all must now turn around. Head back toward the wilderness along the route of the Reed Sea.[d]
41 You replied to me: “We’ve sinned against the Lord! We will go up! We will fight, just as the Lord our God commanded.” Each one of you grabbed your weapons. You thought it would be easy[e] to go up into the hills. 42 But the Lord told me: Tell them: Don’t go up! Don’t fight because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.
43 I reported this to you but you wouldn’t listen. You disobeyed the Lord’s instruction. Hotheadedly, you went up into the hills. 44 And the Amorites who lived in those hills came out to meet you in battle. They chased you like bees give chase! They gave you a beating from Seir all the way to Hormah. 45 When you came back, you cried before the Lord, but he wouldn’t respond to your tears or give you a hearing.
46 And so you stayed in Kadesh-barnea for quite some time.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 1:4 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT lacks and.
- Deuteronomy 1:8 Sam, LXX; MT the Lord
- Deuteronomy 1:24 Heb Eshcol means bunch, a cluster (of grapes); cf Num 13:23-24; 32:9.
- Deuteronomy 1:40 Or Red Sea
- Deuteronomy 1:41 Heb uncertain
Deuteronomy 1
Easy-to-Read Version
Moses Talks to the Israelites
1 These are the commands that Moses gave the Israelites while they were in the Jordan Valley, in the desert east of the Jordan River. This was across from Suph, between the desert of Paran and the cities Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 The trip from Mount Horeb through the mountains of Seir to Kadesh Barnea takes only eleven days. 3 But it was 40 years from the time the Israelites left Egypt until the time they came to this place. On the first day of the eleventh month of the 40th year, Moses spoke to the people and told them everything the Lord commanded. 4 This was after he defeated Sihon and Og. (Sihon was the king of the Amorites and lived in Heshbon. Og was the king of Bashan and lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.) 5 The Israelites were in Moab on the east side of the Jordan River when Moses began to explain what God had commanded:
6 “At Mount Horeb the Lord our God spoke to us. He said, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. 7 Go to the hill country where the Amorites live and to all the neighboring areas in the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western slopes, the Negev, and the seacoast. Go throughout the land of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 Look, I am giving you this land. Go and take it. It is the land that I, the Lord, promised to give to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give this land to them and to their descendants.’
Moses Chooses Leaders
9 “At that time I told you, ‘I can’t take care of you by myself. 10 And now, there are even more of you. The Lord your God has added more and more people, so that today you are as many as the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, give you 1000 times more people than you are now! May he bless you as he promised. 12 But I cannot take care of you and solve all your arguments by myself. 13 So choose some men from each tribe, and I will make them leaders over you. Choose wise men with experience who understand people.’
14 “And you said, ‘That is a good thing to do.’
15 “So I took the wise, experienced men you chose from your tribes, and I made them your leaders. In this way I gave you leaders over 1000 people, over 100 people, over 50 people, and over 10 people. I also gave you officers for each of your tribes.
16 “At that time I told these judges, ‘Listen to the arguments between your people. Be fair when you judge each case. It doesn’t matter if the problem is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner. You must judge each case fairly. 17 You must treat everyone the same when you judge. You must listen carefully to everyone—whether they are important or not. Don’t be afraid of anyone, because your decision is from God. But if there is a case too hard for you to judge, bring it to me and I will judge it.’ 18 At that same time I also told you everything you must do.
The Spies Go to Canaan
19 “So we obeyed the Lord our God. We left Mount Horeb and went to the hill country of the Amorites. You remember that big, terrible desert that we walked through. We came as far as Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, ‘You have now come to the hill country of the Amorites. The Lord our God will give us this country. 21 Look, there it is! Go up and take the land for your own. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you to do this, so don’t be afraid or worry about anything.’
22 “But all of you came to me and said, ‘Let’s send some men to look at the land first. They can spy out the land and come back and tell us the way we should go and which cities we will come to.’
23 “I thought that was a good idea. So I chose twelve men from among you, one man from each tribe. 24 Then they left and went up to the hill country. They came to the Valley of Eshcol and explored it. 25 They took some of the fruit from that land and brought it back to us. They told us about the land and said, ‘The Lord our God is giving us a good land.’
26 “But you refused to go into the land. You refused to obey the Lord your God. 27 You went to your tents and began to complain. You said, ‘The Lord hates us! He brought us out of the land of Egypt just to let the Amorites destroy us. 28 Where can we go now? The men we sent have frightened us with their report. They said, “The people there are bigger and taller than we are. The cities are big and have walls as high as the sky. And we saw giants[a] there!”’
29 “So I said to you, ‘Don’t be upset or afraid of those people. 30 The Lord your God is in front, leading you. He will fight for you just as he did in Egypt. 31 You saw what happened in the desert. You saw how the Lord your God carried you like a man carries his child. He brought you safely all the way to this place.’
32 “But you didn’t trust the Lord your God then either. 33 But he was always in front, going ahead to find a place for you to camp. At night, he was in the fire that showed you where to go. And during the day, he was in the cloud.
People Not Allowed to Enter Canaan
34 “The Lord heard what you said, and he was angry. He made a vow. He said, 35 ‘Not one of you evil people who are alive now will go into the good land that I promised to your ancestors. 36 Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will see that land. I will give Caleb the land he walked on, and I will give that land to his descendants, because he did all that I, the Lord, commanded.’
37 “The Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, you cannot enter the land, either. 38 But your helper, Joshua son of Nun, will go into the land. Encourage Joshua, because he will lead the Israelites to take the land for their own. 39 You thought your little children would be taken by your enemies. But those children, who are still too young to know right from wrong, will go into the land. I will give it to them. Your children will take the land for their own. 40 But you—you must turn around, take the road to the Red Sea and go back into the desert.’
41 “Then you said, ‘Moses, we sinned against the Lord, but now we will do what the Lord our God commanded us before—we will go and fight.’
“Then each of you put on your weapons. You thought it would be easy to go and take the hill country. 42 But the Lord said to me, ‘Tell the people not to go up there and fight, because I will not be with them. Their enemies will defeat them!’
43 “I spoke to you, but you did not listen. You refused to obey the Lord’s command. You thought you could use your own power, so you went up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites who lived there came out like a swarm of bees and chased you all the way from Seir to Hormah. 45 Then you came back crying to the Lord for help, but the Lord refused to listen to you. 46 So you stayed at Kadesh for such a long time.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 1:28 giants Literally, “Anakites,” descendants of Anak, a family famous for tall and powerful fighting men. See Num. 13:33.
Deuteronomy 1
World English Bible
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. 3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that Yahweh[a] had given him in commandment to them, 4 after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying, 6 “Yahweh our God[b] spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have lived long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there: in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South, by the seashore, in the land of the Canaanites, and in Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 Behold,[c] I have set the land before you. Go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give to them and to their offspring[d] after them.’”
9 I spoke to you at that time, saying, “I am not able to bear you myself alone. 10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the sky for multitude. 11 May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! 12 How can I myself alone bear your problems, your burdens, and your strife? 13 Take wise men of understanding who are respected among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”
14 You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.” 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and respected men, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes. 16 I commanded your judges at that time, saying, “Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him. 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.” 18 I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do. 19 We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us. 21 Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as Yahweh the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.”
22 You came near to me, everyone of you, and said, “Let’s send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come.”
23 The thing pleased me well. I took twelve of your men, one man for every tribe. 24 They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, “It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us.”
26 Yet you wouldn’t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God. 27 You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because Yahweh hated 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 are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’”
29 Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them. 30 Yahweh your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you have seen how that Yahweh your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”
32 Yet in this thing you didn’t believe Yahweh your God, 33 who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day. 34 Yahweh heard the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying, 35 “Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh.”
37 Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, saying, “You also shall not go in there. 38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 Moreover your little ones, whom you said would be captured or killed, your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there. I will give it to them, and they shall possess it. 40 But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”
41 Then you answered and said to me, “We have sinned against Yahweh. We will go up and fight, according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us.” Every man of you put on his weapons of war, and presumed to go up into the hill country.
42 Yahweh said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go up and don’t fight; for I am not among you, lest you be struck before your enemies.’”
43 So I spoke to you, and you didn’t listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah. 45 You returned and wept before Yahweh, but Yahweh didn’t listen to your voice, nor turn his ear to you. 46 So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained.
Deuteronomy 1
King James Version
1 These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.)
3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them;
4 After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:
5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,
6 The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:
7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.
9 And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:
10 The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
11 (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)
12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
13 Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.
14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.
15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.
19 And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.
20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.
21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.
23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:
24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.
25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.
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.
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