1These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this (east) side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah (the plain) opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2(It is eleven days' journey from Horeb past Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.) 3And on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded. 4This was after he had defeated Sihon, the king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan who reigned at Astaroth in Edrei. 5On this (east) side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, by saying:

6“The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7Break camp and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all the places near there, in the Arabah (plain), in the hills, and in the Shephelah (vale), and in the Negev (south), and by the seaside, to the land of the Canaanites, and to Lebanon, to the great Euphrates River. 8Look, I have set the land before you: go in and possess this land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them.’

9“And I (Moses) told you at that time, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself: 10The LORD your God has multiplied you, and today, you are as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times more than you are now, and bless you, as He has promised you!) 12But how can I deal with your strife and disputes by myself? 13Choose some men known among your tribes for wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders’. 14And you answered me, and said, ‘What you propose seems good to us.’ 15So I took those of your tribes who were known to be wise men, and made them heads over you, commanders over thousands, captains over hundreds, officers over fifties and over tens, among your tribes. 16And I charged your judges at that time, by saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man, his brother, and the stranger that is with him. 17You shall not show partiality; you shall hear both the small and the great; you shall not fear anyone’s anger, for the judgment is God's; and those causes that are too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear them.’ 18And I instructed you at that time what you should do.

19“And when we left Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which you saw on our way through the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20And I said, ‘You have come to the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God gives to us. 21Look, the LORD your God has given you the land before you. Go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has told you; have no fear, nor be discouraged.’ 22And all of you came to me, and said, ‘We will send men ahead of us, to search out the land, and bring word as to what route we are to follow, and what cities we shall come to.’ 23And your response pleased me well: and I chose twelve me, one from each of your tribes: 24And they went up through the mountains to the valley of Eshcol, and explored it. 25And they brought some samples of the fruit of the land back to us, and returned with this word, ‘It is a good land which the LORD our God has given us.’

26“But you were not willing to go up, and rebelled against the command of the LORD your God: 27And you grumbled in your tents, and said, ‘Because the LORD hated us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us to the Amorites, to destroy us. 28Where shall we go? Our brethren (scouts) have filled us with fear by reporting, “The people there are bigger and taller than we; the cities are big with walls up to heaven; and, we have seen the sons of the Anakim (giants) there.”’ 29Then I said to you, ‘Do not dread or fear them. 30The LORD your God, Who is going before you, shall fight for you, just as He did before your very eyes in Egypt; 31As well as in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, like a man carries his son, everywhere you went, until you arrived at this place.’ 32But still you did not believe the LORD, your God, 33Who went all the way before you, finding the best places to pitch your tents, by fire at night, to show you by where you should go, and by a cloud in the day.

34“And the LORD heard your words, and was angry, and vowed, 35‘Surely not one of the men of this evil generation shall see that good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36Except Caleb, son of Jephunneh: he shall see it, and I will give the land that he has tread upon to him, and to his children, because he has whole-heartedly followed the LORD.’ 37The LORD was also angry with me because of you, and said, ‘You also shall not go in there. 38But Joshua, son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go in there: encourage him; for he shall lead Israel to inherit it. 39And your little ones, who you said would be prey, your children, who, back in that day, had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it. 40But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness toward the Red Sea.’

41“Then you answered, ‘We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us.’ And then you all put on your weapons of war, and were ready to go up into the hill. 42But the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up, nor fight; or you will be defeated; for I will not be with you;”’ 43So I told you that; but you would not hear, but again rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill country. 44And the Amorites, who lived in those hills, came out against you, and chased you, like a swarm of bees, and beat you in Seir, and chased you even to Hormah. 45And you returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hear your weeping, but turned a deaf ear to you. 46So you stayed in Kadesh for many days; you spent many days there.