New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

1These 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.

2Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.

2It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

3But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say.

3In 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,

4This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

4after 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.

5While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD’s instructions as follows. The Command to Leave Sinai

5Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

6“When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.

6"The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

7It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River.

7'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.

8Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’” Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe

8'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.'

9Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.

9"I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I am not able to bear the burden of you alone.

10The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!

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

11And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!

11'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!

12But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?

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

13Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’

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

14“Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’

14"You answered me and said, 'The thing which you have said to do is good.'

15So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.

15"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“At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions

16"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.

17and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’

17'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“At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do. Scouts Explore the Land

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

19“Then, just as the LORD our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea,

19"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.

20I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us.

20"I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the LORD our God is about to give us.

21Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

21'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“But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’

22"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“This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.

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

24They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it.

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

25They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the LORD our God has given us is indeed a good land.’ Israel’s Rebellion against the LORD

25"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“But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in.

26"Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God;

27You complained in your tents and said, ‘The LORD must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.

27and 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.

28Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’

28'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“But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them!

29"Then I said to you, 'Do not be shocked, nor fear them.

30The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.

30'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,

31And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

31and 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“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God,

32"But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God,

33who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

33who 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“When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,

34"Then the LORD heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying,

35‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,

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

36except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the LORD completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’

36except 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“And the LORD was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land!

37"The LORD was angry with me also on your account, saying, 'Not even you shall enter there.

38Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it.

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

39I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it.

39'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.

40As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. ’

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

41“Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the LORD! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the LORD our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

41"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“But the LORD told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’

42"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“This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the LORD’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight.

43"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.

44But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah.

44"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.

45Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen.

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

46So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.

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

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org