1 T hese are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan, in the desert, in the Arabah beside Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.

These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab.

2 I t takes eleven days to travel from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

3 O n the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year, Moses spoke to the children of Israel. He told them all the Lord said they must do.

In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the Lord had commanded him to give to them,

4 T his was after he had won the war against Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

5 O n the other side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses talked to the people about this Law. He said,

Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

6 “ The Lord our God spoke to us at Mount Sinai, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

7 G et ready to travel now. Go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the valley, in the Negev and by the sea, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the big river, the river Euphrates.

Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

8 S ee, I have set the land in front of you. Go in and take for your own the land which the Lord promised to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to their children after them.’ Leaders of Family Groups

See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.’

9 “ At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to take care of you alone.

“I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘ I am not able to bear the burden of you alone.

10 T he Lord your God has made you become many people. Now you are as many as the stars of heaven.

The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number.

11 M ay the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you 1, 000 times as many as you are. May He bring good to you just as He has promised you!

May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you!

12 H ow can I alone carry the weight of your troubles?

How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife?

13 C hoose wise, understanding and able men from your family groups. And I will make them leaders over you.’

Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’

14 Y ou answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have spoken is good for us to do.’

You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’

15 S o I took the leaders of your family groups, wise and able men. I made them leaders over you, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and rulers of your family groups.

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes.

16 “ Then I said to your judges at that time, ‘Listen to the problems between your brothers. And be right in what you decide between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him.

“Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him.

17 D o not show favor as you judge. Listen to the small and the great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, because you are judging for God. Bring to me any problem that is too hard for you, and I will hear it.’

You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’

18 I told you at that time all the things you should do. Men Are Sent to Spy Out the Land

I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

19 “ Then we left Mount Sinai. We went through the big desert you saw which fills people with fear, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had told us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea.

“Then 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, just as the Lord our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

20 I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God will give us.

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 S ee, the Lord your God has set the land in front of you. Go and take it for your own, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or troubled.’

See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’

22 T hen all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, to spy out the land for us. They will return and tell us which way we should go and which cities we will come to.’

“ Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search 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 shall enter.’

23 W hat you said pleased me. I took twelve of your men, one man for each family group.

The thing pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.

24 T hey went up into the hill country, came to the valley of Eshcol, and saw what was there.

They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol and spied it out.

25 T hey took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us. And they told us that it is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.

Then they took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought us back a report and said, ‘It is a good land which the Lord our God is about to give us.’

26 “ Yet you would not go up. You went against what the Lord your God told you to do.

“ Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;

27 Y ou complained in your tents, saying, ‘Because the Lord hates us He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to give us to the Amorites to destroy us.

and you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

28 W here would we be going? Our brothers have made our hearts weak with fear, saying, ‘The people are bigger and taller than we. The cities are large, with walls as high as the heavens. And we have even seen the sons of the Anakim there.’”

Where can we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there.”’

29 T hen I said to you, ‘Do not be afraid of them.

Then I said to you, ‘Do not be shocked, nor fear them.

30 T he Lord your God Who goes before you will Himself fight for you. He did this for you in Egypt in front of your eyes,

The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

31 a nd in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way you have walked until you came to this place.’

and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’

32 B ut even so, you did not trust the Lord your God,

But for all this, you did not trust the Lord your God,

33 W ho goes before you on your way. He finds a place for you to set up your tents. He uses fire to show you the way to go during the night. During the day He uses a cloud to lead you. Israel’s Punishment

who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.

34 “ The Lord heard your words and was angry. He swore,

“Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying,

35 ‘ Not one of these men of these sinful people will see the good land I promised to give your fathers,

‘ Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers,

36 e xcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He will see it. I will give the land on which he has walked to him and his children because he has always followed the Lord.’

except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed the Lord fully.’

37 T he Lord was angry with me because of you. He said, ‘Not even you will go in there.

The Lord was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘ Not even you shall enter there.

38 J oshua the son of Nun, who stands in front of you, will go in there. Tell him to be strong, for he will bring Israel into their new land.

Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.

39 A nd your little ones whom you said would be taken by strange hands, and your children who do not yet know the difference between good and bad, will go in there. I will give the land to them. It will be theirs.

Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.

40 B ut as for you, turn around and go into the desert by way of the Red Sea.’

But as for you, turn around and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.’

41 “ Then you said to me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God told us.’ So every man of you put on his sword and thought it an easy thing to go up into the hill country.

“ Then you said to me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will indeed go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every man of you girded on his weapons of war, and regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country.

42 T he Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up or fight. For I am not among you. You would be destroyed by those who hate you.”’

And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; otherwise you will be defeated before your enemies.”’

43 S o I spoke to you but you would not listen. You went against what the Lord told you. In your pride you went up into the hill country.

So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the Lord, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country.

44 T hen the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you. They came at you like bees, and crushed you from Seir to Hormah.

The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do, and crushed you from Seir to Hormah.

45 A nd you returned and cried before the Lord but the Lord did not listen to you.

Then you returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord did not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.

46 S o you stayed in Kadesh. Many days you stayed there.

So you remained in Kadesh many days, the days that you spent there.