Deuteronomy 1
1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.
3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses told the Israelites everything the LORD had commanded him to tell them.
4 This was after he had defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
5 Across the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law:
6 “The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb: ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.
7 Turn and set out. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and all their neighbors, in the Arabah, the hill country, the foothills, the Negev, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.
8 Look, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and to their descendants.’
9 “At that time I said to you, ‘I cannot carry you by myself.
10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, and today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
11 May the LORD, the God of your ancestors, increase your numbers a thousand times and bless you, as he promised you!
12 How can I carry your burden, your load, and your disputes all by myself?’”
13 “‘Choose wise, understanding, and well-known men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’
14 You answered me, ‘What you have proposed is good for us to do.’
15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and well-known men, and appointed them as leaders over you: commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officials for your tribes.
16 At that time I instructed your judges: ‘Hear the cases between your fellow Israelites, and judge fairly between a man and his fellow Israelite, or the foreign resident living with him.
17 Do not show partiality in judgment. Hear both the lowly and the great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case that is too difficult for you, and I will hear it.’
18 At that time I commanded you concerning everything you were to do.
19 Then we set out from Horeb and traveled through that whole vast and terrifying wilderness you saw, along the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God had commanded us. We reached Kadesh-barnea.
20 Then I said to you, ‘You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.
21 Look, the LORD your God has placed the land before you. Go up and take possession of it, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.’
22 Then all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us and bring back word about the route we should take and the towns we should go to.’
23 The proposal seemed good to me, so I took twelve of your men, one from each tribe.”
24 “They set out, went up into the hill country, reached the Valley of Eshcol, and explored the land.
25 They took some of the land’s fruit in their hands, brought it down to us, and reported, ‘The land the LORD our God is giving us is good.’
26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.
27 You grumbled in your tents and said, ‘It is because the LORD hates us that he brought us out of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us.
28 Where are we going? Our fellow Israelites have made us lose heart, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls reaching to the sky. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.”’
29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified or afraid of them.
30 The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you himself, just as he did for you in Egypt, before your eyes.
31 And in the wilderness, you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all along the way you traveled until you came to this place.
32 Yet even after all this, you did not trust the LORD your God.
33 He went ahead of you on the way to find a place for you to camp: by night in the fire to show you the way you should go, and by day in the cloud.’
34 The LORD heard what you said. He was angry and swore:
35 ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your ancestors.’”
36 “‘Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will see it. I will give him and his descendants the land he set foot on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’
37 The LORD was also angry with me because of you, and he said, ‘You too will not enter there.
38 Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter there. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit the land.
39 Your little ones, whom you said would become prey, and your children, who today do not know good from evil—they will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it.
40 But you, turn around and set out for the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.’
41 Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God commanded us.’ Each of you took up your weapons, ready to go up into the hill country.
42 The LORD said to me, ‘Tell them: “Do not go up or fight, for I am not among you. Otherwise, you will be defeated by your enemies.”’
43 I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD, acted presumptuously, and went up into the hill country.
44 The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you. They chased you like a swarm of bees and defeated you at Seir, as far as Hormah.
45 You returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to your cries or pay attention to you.
46 So you stayed at Kadesh for many days—all the time you remained there.
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