Deuteronomy 1

1THESE ARE the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel beyond the Jordan; in the wilderness, in the Arabah, over against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.

2It is eleven days journey from Horeb unto Kadesh-barnea by the way of mount Seir.

3And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, according unto all that YHWH had given him in commandment unto them;

4after he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei;

5beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, took Moses upon him to expound this law, saying:

6YHWH our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying: ‘Ye have dwelt long enough in this mountain;

7turn you, and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the Arabah, in the hill-country, and in the Lowland, and in the South, and by the sea-shore; the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

8Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which YHWH swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.’

9And I spoke unto you at that time, saying: ‘I am not able to bear you myself alone;

10YHWH your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.—

11YHWH, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as He hath promised you!—

12How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

13Get you, from each one of your tribes, wise men, and understanding, and full of knowledge, and I will make them heads over you.’

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

15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe.

16And I charged your judges at that time, saying: ‘Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

17Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man; for the judgment is God’s; and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.’

18And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

19And we journeyed from Horeb, and went through all that great and dreadful wilderness which ye saw, by the way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as YHWH our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

20And I said unto you: ‘Ye are come unto the hill-country of the Amorites, which YHWH our God giveth unto us.

21Behold, YHWH thy God hath set the land before thee; go up, take possession, as YHWH, the God of thy fathers, hath spoken unto thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.’

22And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us back word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities unto which we shall come.’

23And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe;

24and they turned and went up into the mountains, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.

25And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us back word, and said: ‘Good is the land which YHWH our God giveth unto us.’

26Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of YHWH your God;

27and ye murmured in your tents, and said: ‘Because YHWH hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

28Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart to melt, saying: The people is 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.’

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

30YHWH your God who goeth before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

31and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that YHWH thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto this place.

32Yet in this thing ye do not believe YHWH your God,

33Who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in the cloud by day.’

34And YHWH heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and swore, saying:

35‘Surely there shall not one of these men, even this evil generation, see the good land, which I swore to give unto your fathers,

36save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children; because he hath wholly followed YHWH.’

37Also YHWH was angry with me for your sakes, saying: Thou also shalt not go in thither;

38Joshua the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall go in thither; encourage thou him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, and your children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.’

41Then ye answered and said unto me: ‘We have sinned against YHWH, we will go up and fight, according to all that YHWH our God commanded us.’ And ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and deemed it a light thing to go up into the hill-country.

42And YHWH said unto me: ‘Say unto them: Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.’

43So I spoke unto you, and ye hearkened not; but ye rebelled against the commandment of YHWH, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill-country.

44And the Amorites, that dwell in that hill-country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even unto Hormah.

45And ye returned and wept before YHWH; but YHWH hearkened not to your voice, nor gave ear unto you.

46So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.