Bible in 90 Days
20 So Moses said to them, “If you do this—if you take up arms to go before the Lord for the war(A) 21 and all those of you who bear arms cross the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord—then after that you may return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.(B) 23 But if you do not do this, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build towns for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”(C)
25 Then the Gadites and the Reubenites said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock shall remain there in the towns of Gilead,(D) 27 but your servants will cross over, everyone armed for war, to do battle for the Lord, just as my lord orders.”(E)
28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelite tribes.(F) 29 And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and the Reubenites, everyone armed for battle before the Lord, will cross over the Jordan with you and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession,(G) 30 but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 The Gadites and the Reubenites answered, saying, “As the Lord has spoken to your servants, so we will do. 32 We will cross over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of[a] the Jordan.”
33 Moses gave to them—to the Gadites and to the Reubenites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land and its towns, with the territories of the surrounding towns.(H) 34 And the Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, and Baal-meon (some names being changed), and Sibmah, and they gave names to the towns that they rebuilt. 39 The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were there, 40 so Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled there. 41 Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their villages and renamed them Havvoth-jair.[b](I) 42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and renamed it Nobah after himself.
The Stages of Israel’s Journey from Egypt
33 These are the stages by which the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt in military formation under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.(J) 2 Moses wrote down their starting points, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. 3 They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the Israelites went out boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians,(K) 4 while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them. The Lord executed judgments even against their gods.(L)
5 So the Israelites set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth. 6 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.(M) 7 They set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.(N) 8 They set out from Pi-hahiroth,[c] passed through the sea into the wilderness, went a three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah.(O) 9 They set out from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.(P) 10 They set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.[d] 11 They set out from the Red Sea[e] and camped in the wilderness of Sin.(Q) 12 They set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 They set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 They set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.(R) 15 They set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.(S) 16 They set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.(T) 17 They set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.(U) 18 They set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 They set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 20 They set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.(V) 21 They set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 They set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 They set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 They set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25 They set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 They set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 They set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 They set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 They set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 They set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.(W) 31 They set out from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. 32 They set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. 33 They set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.(X) 34 They set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 They set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.(Y) 36 They set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh).(Z) 37 They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.(AA)
38 Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.(AB) 39 Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40 The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the Israelites.(AC)
41 They set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 They set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 They set out from Punon and camped at Oboth.(AD) 44 They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab.(AE) 45 They set out from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. 46 They set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. 47 They set out from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.(AF) 48 They set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho;(AG) 49 they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.(AH)
Directions for the Conquest of Canaan
50 In the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 51 “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them: When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their figured stones, destroy all their cast images, and demolish all their high places.(AI) 53 You shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 You shall apportion the land by lot according to your clans; to a large one you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small one you shall give a small inheritance; the inheritance shall belong to the person on whom the lot falls; according to your ancestral tribes you shall apportion it.(AJ) 55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they shall trouble you in the land where you are settling.(AK) 56 And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”
The Boundaries of the Land
34 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the Israelites, and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan, defined by its boundaries),(AL) 3 your south sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall begin from the end of the Dead Sea[f] on the east;(AM) 4 your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim and cross to Zin, and its outer limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar-addar and cross to Azmon; 5 the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the Sea.(AN)
6 “For the western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea and its[g] coast; this shall be your western boundary.
7 “This shall be your northern boundary: from the Great Sea you shall mark out your line to Mount Hor;(AO) 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark it out to Lebo-hamath, and the outer limit of the boundary shall be at Zedad;(AP) 9 then the boundary shall extend to Ziphron, and its end shall be at Hazar-enan; this shall be your northern boundary.
10 “You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham, 11 and the boundary shall continue down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain, and the boundary shall go down and reach the eastern slope of the sea of Chinnereth,(AQ) 12 and the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Dead Sea.[h] This shall be your land with its boundaries all around.”
13 Moses commanded the Israelites, saying, “This is the land that you shall apportion by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe,(AR) 14 for the tribe of the Reubenites by their ancestral houses and the tribe of the Gadites by their ancestral houses have taken their inheritance and also the half-tribe of Manasseh;(AS) 15 the two tribes and the half-tribe have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
Tribal Leaders
16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance: the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun.(AT) 18 You shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance.(AU) 19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh. 20 Of the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the Danites a leader, Bukki son of Jogli. 23 Of the Josephites: of the tribe of the Manassites a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod, 24 and of the tribe of the Ephraimites a leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the Zebulunites a leader, Eli-zaphan son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the Issacharites a leader, Paltiel son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the Asherites a leader, Ahihud son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the Naphtalites a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud. 29 These were the ones whom the Lord commanded to apportion the inheritance for the Israelites in the land of Canaan.”
Cities for the Levites
35 In the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance that they possess, towns for the Levites to live in; you shall also give to the Levites pasturelands surrounding the towns.(AV) 3 The towns shall be theirs to live in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle, for their livestock, and for all their animals. 4 The pasture lands of the towns, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the town outward a thousand cubits all around. 5 You shall measure, outside the town, for the east side two thousand cubits, for the south side two thousand cubits, for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, with the town in the middle; this shall belong to them as pastureland for their towns.
6 “The towns that you give to the Levites shall include the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit a slayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two towns.(AW) 7 The towns that you give to the Levites shall total forty-eight, with their pasturelands. 8 And as for the towns that you shall give from the possession of the Israelites, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it obtains, shall give of its towns to the Levites.”(AX)
Cities of Refuge
9 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, so that a slayer who kills a person without intent may flee there.(AY) 12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, so that the slayer may not die until there is a trial before the congregation.(AZ)
13 “The cities that you designate shall be six cities of refuge for you: 14 you shall designate three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the resident or transient alien among them, so that anyone who kills a person without intent may flee there.(BA)
Concerning Murder and Blood Revenge
16 “But anyone who strikes another with an iron object, and death ensues, is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.(BB) 17 Or anyone who strikes another with a stone in hand that could cause death, and death ensues, is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. 18 Or anyone who strikes another with a weapon of wood in hand that could cause death, and death ensues, is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood is the one who shall put the murderer to death; when they meet, the avenger of blood shall execute the sentence.(BC) 20 Likewise, if someone pushes another from hatred or hurls something at another, lying in wait, and death ensues, 21 or in enmity strikes another with the hand, and death ensues, then the one who struck the blow shall be put to death; that person is a murderer; the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when they meet.
22 “But if someone pushes another suddenly without enmity or hurls any object without lying in wait,(BD) 23 or, while handling any stone that could cause death, unintentionally[i] drops it on another and death ensues, though they were not enemies and no harm was intended, 24 then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these ordinances,(BE) 25 and the congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood. Then the congregation shall send the slayer back to the original city of refuge. The slayer shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the slayer shall at any time go outside the bounds of the original city of refuge 27 and is found by the avenger of blood outside the bounds of the city of refuge and is killed by the avenger, no bloodguilt shall be incurred. 28 For the slayer must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the slayer may return to his property.
29 “These things shall be a statute and ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
30 “If anyone kills another, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness.(BF) 31 Moreover you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is subject to the death penalty; a murderer must be put to death. 32 Nor shall you accept ransom for one who has fled to a city of refuge, enabling the fugitive to return to live in the land before the death of the high priest. 33 You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.(BG) 34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell, for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites.”(BH)
Marriage of Female Heirs
36 The heads of the ancestral houses of the clans of the descendants of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, of the Josephite clans, came forward and spoke in the presence of Moses and the leaders, the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelites;(BI) 2 they said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the Israelites, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.(BJ) 3 But if they are married into another Israelite tribe, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our ancestors and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, so it will be taken away from the allotted portion of our inheritance. 4 And when the Jubilee of the Israelites comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they have married, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”(BK)
5 Then Moses commanded the Israelites according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The descendants of the tribe of Joseph are right in what they are saying. 6 This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them marry whom they think best; only it must be into a clan of their father’s tribe that they are married,(BL) 7 so that no inheritance of the Israelites shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for all Israelites shall retain the inheritance of their ancestral tribes. 8 Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the Israelites shall marry one from the clan of her father’s tribe, so that all Israelites may continue to possess their ancestral inheritance.(BM) 9 No inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the Israelites shall retain its own inheritance.”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married sons of their father’s brothers.(BN) 12 They were married into the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.
13 These are the commandments and the ordinances that the Lord commanded through Moses to the Israelites in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.(BO)
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.(BP) 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.(BQ) 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.(BR) 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,[j] 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.’(BS)
Appointment of Tribal Leaders
9 “At that time I said to you, ‘I am unable by myself to bear you.(BT) 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven.(BU) 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times more and bless you, as he has promised you!(BV) 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.’(BW) 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.(BX) 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.(BY) 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.’(BZ) 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.(CA) 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.’(CB)
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.(CC) 24 They set out and went up into the hill country, and when they reached the Wadi Eshcol they spied it out(CD) 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.’(CE)
26 “But you were unwilling to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;(CF) 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.(CG) 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!” ’(CH) 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(CI) 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.(CJ) 32 But in spite of this, you have no trust in the Lord your God,(CK) 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.’(CL)
The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion
34 “When the Lord heard your words, he was wrathful and swore,(CM) 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.(CN) 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.(CO) 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.(CP) 40 But as for you, journey back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea.’[k](CQ)
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.(CR) 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.” ’(CS) 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.(CT) 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.(CU) 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, 2 1
“When we had headed out along the route of the wilderness of Moab,(CZ) 9 the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or engage them in battle, for I will not give you any of its land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’(DA) 10 (The Emim—a large and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim—had formerly inhabited it.(DB) 11 Like the Anakim, they are usually reckoned as Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim. 12 Moreover, the Horim had formerly inhabited Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, destroying them and settling in their place, as Israel has done in the land that the Lord gave them as a possession.)(DC) 13 ‘Now then, proceed to cross over the Wadi Zered.’
“So we crossed over the Wadi Zered. 14 And the length of time we had traveled from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of warriors had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn concerning them.(DD) 15 Indeed, the Lord’s own hand was against them, to root them out from the camp, until all had perished.(DE)
16 “Just as soon as all the warriors had died off from among the people, 17 the Lord spoke to me, saying, 18 ‘Today you are going to cross the boundary of Moab at Ar. 19 When you approach the frontier of the Ammonites, do not harass them or engage them in battle, for I will not give the land of the Ammonites to you as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot.’(DF) 20 (It also is usually reckoned as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly inhabited it, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, 21 a strong and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites[m] so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place.(DG) 22 He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by destroying the Horites before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place even to this day.(DH) 23 As for the Avvim, who had lived in settlements in the vicinity of Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)(DI) 24 ‘Proceed on your journey and cross the Wadi Arnon. See, I have handed over to you King Sihon the Amorite of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession by engaging him in battle.(DJ) 25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under heaven; when they hear report of you, they will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’(DK)
Defeat of King Sihon
26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with the following terms of peace:(DL) 27 ‘If you let me pass through your land, I will travel only along the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left.(DM) 28 You shall sell me food for money, so that I may eat, and supply me water for money, so that I may drink. Only allow me to pass through on foot(DN)— 29 just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir have done for me and likewise the Moabites who live in Ar—until I cross the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving us.’ 30 But King Sihon of Heshbon was not willing to let us pass through, for the Lord your God had hardened his spirit and made his heart defiant in order to hand him over to you, as he has now done.(DO)
31 “The Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to take possession of his land.’(DP) 32 So when Sihon came out against us, he and all his people for battle at Jahaz,(DQ) 33 the Lord our God gave him over to us, and we struck him down, along with his offspring and all his people. 34 At that time we captured all his towns, and in each town we utterly destroyed men, women, and children. We left not a single survivor.(DR) 35 Only the livestock we kept as spoil for ourselves, as well as the plunder of the towns that we had captured. 36 From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon (including the town that is in the wadi itself) as far as Gilead, there was no citadel too high for us. The Lord our God gave everything to us.(DS) 37 You did not encroach, however, on the land of the Ammonites, avoiding the whole upper region of the Wadi Jabbok as well as the towns of the hill country, just as[n] the Lord our God had charged.(DT)
Defeat of King Og
3 “When we headed up the road to Bashan, King Og of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, for battle at Edrei.(DU) 2 The Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you, along with his people and his land. Do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.’(DV) 3 So the Lord our God also handed over to us King Og of Bashan and all his people. We struck him down until not a single survivor was left.(DW) 4 At that time we captured all his towns; there was no citadel that we did not take from them: sixty towns, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.(DX) 5 All these were fortress towns with high walls, double gates, and bars, besides a great many villages. 6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon, in each city utterly destroying men, women, and children.(DY) 7 But all the livestock and the plunder of the towns we kept as spoil for ourselves.
8 “So at that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites the land beyond the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, while the Amorites call it Senir),(DZ) 10 all the towns of the tableland, the whole of Gilead, and all of Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Now only King Og of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. In fact, his bed, an iron bed, can still be seen in Rabbah of the Ammonites. By the common cubit it is nine cubits long and four cubits wide.)(EA) 12 As for the land that we took possession of at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the territory north of Aroer[o] that is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, as well as half the hill country of Gilead with its towns,(EB) 13 and I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, Og’s kingdom. (The whole region of Argob: all that portion of Bashan used to be called a land of Rephaim; 14 Jair the Manassite acquired the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and he named them—that is, Bashan—after himself, Havvoth-jair,[p] as it is to this day.)(EC) 15 To Machir I gave Gilead.(ED) 16 And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Wadi Arnon, with the middle of the wadi as a boundary, and up to the Jabbok, the wadi being boundary of the Ammonites; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan and its banks, from Chinnereth down to the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea,[q] with the lower slopes of Pisgah on the east.(EE)
18 “At that time, I charged you as follows: ‘Although the Lord your God has given you this land to occupy, all your troops shall cross over armed as the vanguard of your Israelite kin.(EF) 19 Only your wives, your children, and your livestock—I know that you have much livestock—shall stay behind in the towns that I have given to you. 20 When the Lord gives rest to your kindred, as to you, and they also have occupied the land that the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan, then each of you may return to the property that I have given to you.’(EG) 21 And I charged Joshua as well at that time, saying: ‘Your own eyes have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord will do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22 Do not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’(EH)
Moses Views Canaan from Pisgah
23 “At that time, too, I entreated the Lord, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your might. What god in heaven or on earth can perform deeds and mighty acts like yours?(EI) 25 Let me cross over to see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and the Lebanon.’ 26 But the Lord was angry with me on your account and would not heed me. The Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you! Never speak to me of this matter again!(EJ) 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look around you to the west, to the north, to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross over this Jordan.(EK) 28 But charge Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, because it is he who shall cross over at the head of this people and who shall secure their possession of the land that you will see.’(EL) 29 So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.(EM)
Moses Commands Obedience
4 “So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.(EN) 2 You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you.(EO) 3 You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did with regard to the Baal of Peor, how the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,(EP) 4 while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.
5 “See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. 6 You must observe them and perform them, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’(EQ) 7 For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him?(ER) 8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
9 “But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children(ES)— 10 how you once stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people for me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me as long as they live on the earth and may teach their children so’;(ET) 11 you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain while the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds.(EU) 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.(EV) 13 He declared to you his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is, the ten commandments,[r] and he wrote them on two stone tablets.(EW) 14 And the Lord charged me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy.
15 “Since you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, watch yourselves closely, 16 so that you do not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female,(EX) 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere under heaven.(EY) 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron smelter, out of Egypt, to become a people of his very own possession, as you are now.(EZ)
21 “The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he vowed that I should not cross the Jordan and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving for your possession.(FA) 22 For I am going to die in this land without crossing over the Jordan, but you are going to cross over to take possession of that good land.(FB) 23 So be careful, lest you forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you and make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you.(FC) 24 For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.(FD)
25 “When you have had children and children’s children and become complacent in the land, if you act corruptly by making an idol in the form of anything, thus doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God and provoking him to anger,(FE) 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to occupy; you will not live long on it but will be utterly destroyed.(FF) 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples; only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will lead you.(FG) 28 There you will serve gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.(FH) 29 From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.(FI) 30 In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the Lord your God and heed him. 31 Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.(FJ)
32 “For ask now about former ages, long before your own, ever since the day that God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of heaven to the other: Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has its like ever been heard of?(FK) 33 Has any people ever heard the voice of a god speaking out of a fire, as you have heard, and lived?(FL) 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by terrifying displays of power, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?(FM) 35 To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.(FN) 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, while you heard his words coming out of the fire.(FO) 37 And because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them. He brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power,(FP) 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than yourselves, to bring you in, giving you their land for a possession, as it is still today.(FQ) 39 So acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.(FR) 40 Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you, so that you may long remain in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”(FS)
Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan
41 Then Moses set apart on the east side of the Jordan three cities(FT) 42 to which a homicide could flee, someone who unintentionally kills another person, the two not having been at enmity before; the homicide could flee to one of these cities and live: 43 Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.
Transition to the Second Address
44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the decrees and the statutes and ordinances that Moses spoke to the Israelites when they had come out of Egypt, 46 beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned at Heshbon, whom Moses and the Israelites defeated when they came out of Egypt.(FU) 47 They occupied his land and the land of King Og of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites on the eastern side of the Jordan: 48 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, as far as Mount Sirion[s] (that is, Hermon),(FV) 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.
The Ten Commandments
5 Moses convened all Israel and said to them:
“Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.(FW) 3 Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire.(FX) 5 (At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:(FY)
6 “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;(FZ) 7 you shall have no other gods before[t] me.
8 “ ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me(GA) 10 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation[u] of those who love me and keep my commandments.(GB)
11 “ ‘You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
12 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 14 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you.(GC) 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.(GD)
16 “ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 “ ‘You shall not murder.[v]
18 “ ‘Neither shall you commit adultery.
19 “ ‘Neither shall you steal.
20 “ ‘Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 “ ‘Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife.
“ ‘Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’ ”(GE)
Moses the Mediator of God’s Will
22 “These words the Lord spoke with a loud voice to your whole assembly at the mountain, out of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, and he added no more. He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.(GF) 23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders, 24 and you said, ‘Look, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the fire. We have seen this day that God may speak to someone and the person may still live.(GG) 25 But now why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we shall die.(GH) 26 For who is there of all flesh that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and lived?(GI) 27 Go near, you yourself, and hear all that the Lord our God will say. Then tell us everything that the Lord our God tells you, and we will listen and do it.’
28 “The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you; they are right in all that they have spoken.(GJ) 29 If only they had such a mind as this, to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well with them and with their children forever!(GK) 30 Go say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, the statutes and the ordinances, that you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’(GL) 32 You must therefore be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left.(GM) 33 You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess.(GN)
The Great Commandment
6 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, 2 so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.(GO) 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.(GP)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[w](GQ) 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.(GR) 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.(GS) 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[x] on your forehead,(GT) 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.(GU)
Caution against Disobedience
10 “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,(GV) 11 houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill,(GW) 12 take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 The Lord your God you shall fear, him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear.(GX) 14 Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you, 15 because the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a jealous God. The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and he would destroy you from the face of the earth.(GY)
16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.(GZ) 17 You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees and his statutes that he has commanded you.(HA) 18 Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors,(HB) 19 thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.
20 “When your children ask you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’(HC) 21 then you shall say to your children, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 The Lord displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case.(HD) 25 If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.’(HE)
A Chosen People
7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy and he clears away many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you(HF)— 2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy.(HG) 3 Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,(HH) 4 for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.(HI) 5 But this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred poles,[y] and burn their idols with fire.(HJ) 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.(HK)
7 “It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples.(HL) 8 It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.(HM) 9 Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,(HN) 10 and who repays in their own person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject him. 11 Therefore, observe diligently the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that I am commanding you today.
Blessings for Obedience
12 “If you heed these ordinances by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors;(HO) 13 he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you.(HP) 14 You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock.(HQ) 15 The Lord will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.(HR) 16 You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.(HS)
17 “If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?’ 18 do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt,(HT) 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.(HU) 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send swarms of hornets[z] against them until even the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed.(HV) 21 Have no dread of them, for the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God.(HW) 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to make a quick end of them, otherwise the wild animals would become too numerous for you.(HX) 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you shall blot out their name from under heaven; no one will be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.(HY) 25 The images of their gods you shall burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or the gold that is on them and take it for yourself, because you could be ensnared by it, for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God.(HZ) 26 Do not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You must utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.
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.