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
International Standard Version
The Setting of the Covenant
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to the assembly of[a] Israel east[b] of the Jordan River,[c] in the Arabah desert, opposite Suph between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. 2 It takes eleven days to travel[d] from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea via Mount Seir.[e] 3 On the first day of the eleventh month,[f] in the fortieth year, Moses spoke to the Israelis about everything that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This took place[g] after he defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth at Edrei.
Moses Reviews God’s Instructions
5 East of the Jordan River, in the land of Moab, Moses began to expound this Law: 6 “The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb. He said, ‘You have been at this mountain long enough. 7 Break camp,[h] get going, and proceed to the hill country of the Amorites and all the nearby places in the Arabah desert, the highlands, the foothills, the Negev,[i] the coastal plains, all of the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 Look! I’ve given you the land that lies ahead. Go in and possess the land that I, the Lord, promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as to their descendants.’”
Moses Reviews the Selected Officials
9 “I also told you at that time that I won’t be able to sustain you on my own. 10 The Lord your God greatly multiplied your numbers, and today you are like the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase your numbers a thousand times more, and may he bless you, as he promised you. 12 How can I bear the burden of you and your bickering all by myself? 13 Choose for yourselves wise and discerning men, known to your tribes, and appoint them as your leaders. 14 You answered by saying that this plan is a good thing. 15 So I chose leaders from your tribes, wise and respected men, and I appointed them over you—commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 16 I charged your judges at that time, ‘When you hold a hearing between brothers, judge fairly between a man and his brother or between foreigners. 17 When you hold a hearing, don’t be partial[j] in judgment toward the least important or toward the great. Never fear men, because judgment belongs to God. If the matter is difficult for you, bring it to me for a hearing.’ 18 I charged you at that time that you must do all of these things.”
Moses Reviews the Sending of the Scouts(A)
19 “Then we set out from Horeb and walked through that vast and dreadful desert, where you observed the road to the Amorite hill country. Just as the Lord our God ordained for us, we finally arrived at Kadesh-barnea. 20 I told you at that time, ‘You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is about to give us. 21 Look! The Lord your God has given the land that lies[k] before you. Go and possess it, just as the Lord God of your ancestors commanded you. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.’
22 “Then all of you approached me and said: ‘Let’s send out men in advance of us so they can survey the land and bring back a report to us on how we’ll go up to their cities.’ 23 Because this suggestion[l] seemed good to me, I chose twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. 24 Then these men set out,[m] went up to the hill county, reached the Eshcol Valley, and surveyed it. 25 They hand-picked some of the fruit of the land, brought it down to us, and gave a report that said, ‘The land which the Lord is about to give us is good.’”
Israel Rebels
26 “However, your ancestors didn’t go up. Instead, they rebelled against the command[n] of the Lord your God. 27 You murmured in your tents, ‘The Lord hates us. He brought us out of the land of Egypt in order to deliver us to[o] the Amorites so he could destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers discouraged us when they said that the people are bigger and taller than we are. Their cities are tall and fortified to the sky, and we also saw the Anakim[p] there.’
29 “Then I told you, ‘Don’t be terrified or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God is the One who will be going ahead of you. He’ll fight for you just as he did in Egypt before your eyes. 31 In the desert you saw that the Lord carried you like a man carries his son, on every road you traveled until you reached this place.’ 32 But despite this, you didn’t trust in the Lord your God, 33 who walked ahead of you along the way to scout a place for you to pitch camp—by fire at night and cloud by day—to lead you on the way you should go.”
Entrance is Denied
34 “When the Lord heard your complaints, he became angry and declared, 35 ‘I swear that not one man of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors, 36 except Jephunneh’s son Caleb. He will see it and I will give to him and to his descendants the land on which he has walked because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’
37 “The Lord was also furious with me because of you. He said: ‘You will not enter the land.[q] 38 However, Nun’s son Joshua, your assistant, will go there. Encourage him, for he will cause Israel to take possession of it. 39 Your little ones—whom you said would be taken captive—and your children who do not yet[r] know right from wrong will enter the land.[s] I will give it to them and they themselves will possess it. 40 But as for you, prepare to set out for the desert on the way to the Reed[t] Sea.’
41 “You responded to me and said, ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will now go up and fight according to what the Lord our God commanded.’ So each man put on his weapon for battle and recklessly started out for the hill country.”
The Amorites Defeat Israel
42 “Then the Lord told me: ‘Tell them not to go up and fight because I will not be in their midst, or else you will be defeated before your enemies.’
43 “I spoke to you but you didn’t listen. Instead you rebelled against the command[u] of the Lord and went up to the hill country. 44 The Amorites who lived in the hill country came out to engage you in battle. They pursued you like bees do and crushed you from Seir to Hormah. 45 You returned and cried out in the Lord’s presence, but the Lord didn’t hear your voice or listen to you. 46 You remained in Kadesh for many days. It was a long time, indeed.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 1:1 Lit. to all
- Deuteronomy 1:1 Lit. Israel on the other side; and so throughout the book
- Deuteronomy 1:1 The Heb. lacks River; and so throughout the book
- Deuteronomy 1:2 The Heb. lacks to travel
- Deuteronomy 1:2 This mountain, the modern Jebel esh-sherá, is located in the mountain range that extends south of the Dead Sea toward the Gulf of Aqaba, and is bordered by the Arabah Valley to the west.
- Deuteronomy 1:3 I.e. the month of Shebat in the Hebrew calendar
- Deuteronomy 1:4 The Heb. lacks This took place
- Deuteronomy 1:7 Lit. Turn
- Deuteronomy 1:7 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Lit. don’t recognize faces
- Deuteronomy 1:21 The Heb. lacks that lies
- Deuteronomy 1:23 Lit. word
- Deuteronomy 1:24 Lit. Then they turned
- Deuteronomy 1:26 Lit. mouth
- Deuteronomy 1:27 Lit. to give us into the hands of
- Deuteronomy 1:28 I.e. a race of giants that formerly populated Canaan; cf. Num 13:22, 33; Deut 9:2
- Deuteronomy 1:37 Lit. land there
- Deuteronomy 1:39 Lit. this day
- Deuteronomy 1:39 Lit. land there
- Deuteronomy 1:40 So MT; LXX reads Red
- Deuteronomy 1:43 Lit. mouth
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