Deuteronomy 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Events at Horeb Recalled
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan—in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. 2 (By the way of Mount Seir it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb.) 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites just as the Lord had commanded him to speak to them.(A) 4 This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth in Edrei.(B) 5 Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law as follows:
6 “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.(C) 7 Resume your journey, and go into the hill country of the Amorites as well as into the neighboring regions—the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb,[a] and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.’(D)
Appointment of Tribal Leaders
9 “At that time I said to you, ‘I am unable by myself to bear you.(E) 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven.(F) 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times more and bless you, as he has promised you!(G) 12 But how can I bear the heavy burden of your disputes all by myself? 13 Choose for each of your tribes individuals who are wise, discerning, and reputable, and I will make them your leaders.’(H) 14 You answered me, ‘The plan you have proposed is a good one.’ 15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and reputable individuals, and installed them as leaders over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officials, throughout your tribes.(I) 16 I charged your judges at that time: ‘Give the members of your community a fair hearing and judge rightly between one person and another, whether kin or resident alien.(J) 17 You must not be partial in judging: hear out the small and the great alike; you shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. Any case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’(K) 18 So I charged you at that time with all the things that you should do.
Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land
19 “Then, just as the Lord our God had ordered us, we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, until we reached Kadesh-barnea.(L) 20 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 the land to you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you; do not fear or be dismayed.’(M)
22 “All of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us and bring back a report to us regarding the route by which we should go up and the cities we will come to.’ 23 The plan seemed good to me, and I selected twelve of you, one from each tribe.(N) 24 They set out and went up into the hill country, and when they reached the Wadi Eshcol they spied it out(O) 25 and gathered some of the land’s produce, which they brought down to us. They brought back a report to us and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’(P)
26 “But you were unwilling to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;(Q) 27 you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘It is because the Lord hates us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us.(R) 28 Where are we headed? Our kindred have made our hearts melt by reporting, “The people are stronger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven! We actually saw there the offspring of the Anakim!” ’(S) 29 I said to you, ‘Have no dread or fear of them. 30 The Lord your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes(T) 31 and in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you traveled until you reached this place.(U) 32 But in spite of this, you have no trust in the Lord your God,(V) 33 who goes before you on the way to seek out a place for you to camp, in fire by night, and in the cloud by day, to show you the route you should take.’(W)
The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion
34 “When the Lord heard your words, he was wrathful and swore,(X) 35 ‘Not one of these—not one of this evil generation—shall see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his descendants I will give the land on which he set foot, because of his complete fidelity to the Lord.’ 37 Even with me the Lord was angry on your account, saying, ‘You also shall not enter there.(Y) 38 Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, shall enter there; encourage him, for he is the one who will secure Israel’s possession of it.(Z) 39 And as for your little ones who you thought would become plunder, your children who today do not yet know right from wrong, they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it.(AA) 40 But as for you, journey back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea.’[b](AB)
41 “You answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We are ready to go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ So all of you strapped on your battle gear and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.(AC) 42 The Lord said to me, ‘Say to them: “Do not go up, and do not fight, for I am not in the midst of you; otherwise you will be defeated by your enemies.” ’(AD) 43 Although I told you, you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country.(AE) 44 The Amorites who lived in that hill country then came out against you and chased you as bees do. They beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah.(AF) 45 When you returned and wept before the Lord, the Lord would neither heed your voice nor pay you any attention.
The Desert Years
46 “After you had stayed at Kadesh as many days as you did,
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible