Beginning

1 These are the devarim (words) which Moshe spoke unto kol Yisroel on the far side of the Yarden in the midbar, in the Aravah opposite Suf between Paran, and Tophel, and Lavan, and Chatzerot, and Di-Zahav.

² (There is eleven days’ journey from Chorev unto Kadesh-Barnea by way of Mount Seir.)

³ And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moshe spoke unto the Bnei Yisroel, according unto all that Hashem had given him in commandment unto them,

⁴ After he had slain Sichon Melech HaEmori, which dwelt in Cheshbon, and Og Melech HaBashan, which dwelt in Ashtarot at Edre’i;

⁵ On the far side of the Yarden, in Eretz Moav, began Moshe to expound this torah, saying,

⁶ Hashem Eloheinu spoke unto us in Chorev, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough at this mountain;

⁷ Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the Har HaEmori (hill country of the Amorites), and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the Aravah, in the hills, in the Shefelah, and in the Negev, and by the seacoast, to the Eretz HaKena’ani (Land of the Canaanites), and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

⁸ See, I have set ha’aretz (the land) before you; go in and possess ha’aretz which Hashem swore unto Avoteichem, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, to give unto them and to their zera after them.

⁹ And I spoke unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear the burden of you by myself alone;

¹⁰ Hashem Eloheichem hath multiplied you, and, see, ye are today as numerous as the kokhavei HaShomayim.

¹¹ (Hashem Elohei Avoteichem increase you a thousand times over and bless you, as He hath promised you!)

¹² How can I myself alone bear your problems, and your massa and your strife?

¹³ Take you anashim chachamim, men of wisdom and understanding, who are known among your tribes, and I will set them over you.

¹⁴ And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is tov for us to do.

¹⁵ So I took the leaders of your tribes, anashim chachamim, men of understanding, and made them heads over you, over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens, shoterim among your tribes.

¹⁶ And I charged your shofetim at that time, saying, Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the ger that is with him.

¹⁷ Ye shall not respect persons in mishpat but ye shall hear the katon as well as the gadol; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the mishpat is Elohim’s: and the case 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 Chorev, we went through all that great and terrible midbar, which ye saw on the way to the Har HaEmori, just as Hashem Eloheinu commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-Barnea.

²⁰ And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the Har HaEmori which Hashem Eloheinu doth give unto us.

²¹ See, Hashem Eloheicha hath set ha’aretz before thee; go up and possess it, as Hashem Elohei Avoteicha hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

²² And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, Let us send anashim ahead of us, and they shall spy out ha’aretz, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what towns we shall come.

²³ And the proposal pleased me well; and I took Shneym Asar, (Twelve) of you, one of each shevet (tribe);

²⁴ And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came unto the Eshkol Valley, and explored it.

²⁵ And they took of the pri ha’aretz in their hands, brought it down unto us, brought us word, and said, It is a tovah ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheinu doth give us.

²⁶ Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Hashem Eloheichem;

²⁷ And ye murmured in your oholim, and said, Because Hashem hated us, He hath brought us forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim, to deliver us into the hand of HaEmori, to destroy us.

²⁸ Where shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged levavenu (our hearts), saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to Shomayim; moreover we have seen the Bnei Anakim there.

²⁹ Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

³⁰ Hashem Eloheichem which goeth before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Mitzrayim before your eyes;

³¹ And in the midbar, where thou hast seen how that Hashem Eloheicha did bear thee, as a man doth carry his ben, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

³² Yet in this thing ye were not ma’aminim (believers) in Hashem Eloheichem,

³³ Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in eish by lailah, to show you by what way ye should go, and in an anan (cloud) by day.

³⁴ And Hashem heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and on oath, said,

³⁵ Surely there shall not one of these men of this dor harah see ha’aretz hatovah, which I swore to give unto Avoteichem.

³⁶ Except Kalev ben Yephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give ha’aretz that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed Hashem.

³⁷ Also Hashem was angry with me because of you, saying, Thou also shalt not go in there.

³⁸ But Yehoshua ben Nun, the one assisting thee, he shall go in there; encourage him, for he shall cause Yisroel to inherit it.

³⁹ Moreover your little ones, which ye said would be taken captive, and your children, which as yet do not have knowledge between tov and rah, they shall go in there, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

⁴⁰ But as for you, turn, take your journey into the midbar by the way of the Yam Suf.

⁴¹ Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against Hashem; we will go up and fight, according to all that Hashem Eloheinu did command us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye made light of going up into the hill country.

⁴² And Hashem said unto me, Say unto them. Go not up, neither fight; for I am not in your midst; lest ye be struck down before your enemies.

⁴³ So I spoke unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of Hashem, and went presumptuously up into the hill country.

⁴⁴ And HaEmori, which dwelt in that hill country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Chormah.

⁴⁵ And ye returned and wept before Hashem; but Hashem would not listen to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

⁴⁶ That is why ye abode in Kadesh as long as ye did.

2 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Yam Suf, as Hashem spoke unto me; and we circled Mt Seir yamim rabbim (many days).

² And Hashem spoke unto me, saying,

³ Ye have circled hahar hazeh (this mountain) long enough; turn you northward.

⁴ And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the territory of your brethren the Bnei Esav, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you; be shomer me’od of yourselves therefore:

⁵ Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a regel (foot) breadth; because I have given Mt Seir unto Esav for a yerushah (possession, inheritance).

⁶ Ye shall get by trade okhel (food) of them for kesef, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy mayim of them for kesef, that ye may drink.

⁷ For Hashem Eloheicha hath bestowed a brocha on thee in all the works of thy hand; He knoweth thy walking through this midbar hagadol (great wilderness); these arba’im shanim Hashem Eloheicha hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

⁸ And when we went on past our brethren the Bnei Esav, who dwell in Seir, through the road of the Aravah from Eilat, and from Etzyon-Gever, we turned and passed by on the road through the midbar of Moav.

⁹ And Hashem said unto me, Harass not the Moavim, neither provoke them to milchamah for I will not give thee of their land for a yerushah; because I have given Ar unto the Bnei Lot for a yerushah.

¹⁰ The Emim dwelt therein in times past, a people great, many, and tall, as the Anakim;

¹¹ Which also were accounted Refa’im, as the Anakim; but the Moavim called them Emim.

¹² The Chorim also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the Bnei Esav succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their place; as Yisroel did unto the eretz of his yerushah Hashem gave unto them.

¹³ Now rise up, and get you over the Wadi Zered. And we went over the Wadi Zered.

¹⁴ And the space in which we came from Kadesh-Barnea, until we were come over the Wadi Zered, was 38 shanim; until all the generation of the anshei hamilchamah had been consumed from the machaneh, as Hashem had sworn unto them.

¹⁵ For indeed the yad Hashem was against them, to destroy them from among the machaneh, until they were consumed.

¹⁶ So it came to pass, when kol anshei hamilchamah were consumed and dead from among HaAm (the People),

¹⁷ That Hashem spoke unto me, saying,

¹⁸ Thou art to pass over the border of Moav at Ar today;

¹⁹ And when thou comest opposite the Bnei Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them; for I will not give thee of the Eretz Bnei Ammon any yerushah; because I have given it unto the Bnei Lot for a yerushah.

²⁰ (That also was accounted a land of Refa’im; Refa’im dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonim call them Zamzummim;

²¹ A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Hashem destroyed them before them; and they [the Ammonim] dispossessed them, and dwelt in their place:

²² As He did to the Bnei Esav, which dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Chori from before them; and they succeeded them, dwelling in their place even to this day;

²³ And the Avim which dwelt in villages, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorim, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their place.)

²⁴ Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the Wadi Arnon: see, I have given into thine hand the Emori, Sichon Melech Cheshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in milchamah (battle, war).

²⁵ Hayom hazeh will I begin to put the pachad (dread) of thee and the fear of thee upon the ammim (peoples) that are under Kol HaShomayim, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

²⁶ And I sent malachim out of the midbar Kedemot unto Sichon Melech Cheshbon with divrei shalom, saying,

²⁷ Let me pass through thy land on the derech; I will go along on the derech; I will neither turn unto the yamin nor to the semol (left).

²⁸ Thou shalt sell me okhel for kesef, that I may eat; and give me mayim for kesef, that I may drink; only I will pass through on foot;

²⁹ (As the Bnei Esav which dwell in Seir, and the Moavim which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Yarden into the land which Hashem Eloheinu giveth us.

³⁰ But Sichon Melech Cheshbon would not let us pass by him; for Hashem Eloheicha hardened and made stubborn his ruach, and made his lev obstinate, that He might deliver him into thy hand, as indeed hayom hazeh.

³¹ And Hashem said unto me, See, I have begun to give Sichon and his land before thee; begin the occupation, that thou mayest take possession to inherit his land.

³² Then Sichon came out against us, he and all his people, to make milchamah (battle, war) at Yachatz.

³³ And Hashem Eloheinu delivered him before us; and we struck him, and his banim, and all his people.

³⁴ And we took all his towns at that time, and in cherem utterly destroyed them, and of the nashim, and the little ones, of every town, we left no remnant;

³⁵ Only the behemah we took for booty unto ourselves, and the plunder of the towns which we took.

³⁶ From Aroer, which is on the edge of Wadi Arnon, and from the town that is by the wadi, even unto Gil‘ad, there was not one town too strong for us; Hashem Eloheinu delivered all unto us:

³⁷ Only unto the Eretz Bnei Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the Wadi Yabok, nor unto the towns in the hills, in accordance with the command of Hashem Eloheinu.