19 “Then we set out from (A)Horeb, and went through all that (B)great and terrible wilderness that you saw on the way to the (C)hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us; and we came to (D)Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is about to give us. 21 See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. (E)Do not fear or be dismayed.’

22 (F)Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us, so that they may spy out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up, and the cities which we should enter.’ 23 The [a]plan pleased me, and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe. 24 Then (G)they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 And they took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us. They also brought us back a report and said, ‘The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.’

26 (H)Yet you were unwilling to go up; instead you (I)rebelled against the [b]command of the Lord your God; 27 and (J)you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, by saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we saw (K)the sons of the Anakim there.”’ 29 But I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, nor fear them. 30 The Lord your God, who goes before you, will (L)Himself fight for you, [c]just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how (M)the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, on all of the road which you have walked until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet [d](N)in spite of all this, you did not trust the Lord your God, 33 (O)who goes before you on your way, (P)to seek out a place for you to make camp, in the fire by night to show you the way by which you should go, and in the cloud by day.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:23 Lit word
  2. Deuteronomy 1:26 Lit mouth
  3. Deuteronomy 1:30 Lit according to all that
  4. Deuteronomy 1:32 Lit in this matter

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

19 “And we set out from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Ka′desh-bar′nea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God gives us. 21 Behold, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you; do not fear or be dismayed.’ 22 Then all of you came near me, and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ 23 The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men of you, one man for each tribe; 24 and they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, ‘It is a good land which the Lord our God gives us.’

26 “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; 27 and you murmured in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Whither are we going up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’ 29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God bore you, as a man bears his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.

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