Moses' Instructions
Deuteronomy 1, verse 1. Now these are the words Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the desert, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. Deuteronomy 1, verse 2. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. Deuteronomy 1, verse 3. Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the sons of Israel according to all the Lord gave him as commandments to them, Deuteronomy 1, verse 4. after he killed Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei. Deuteronomy 1, verse 5. Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying, Deuteronomy 1, verse 6. “The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Deuteronomy 1, verse 7. Turn and take your journey and go to the mountain of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the Arabah, in the mountains and in the plain, to the south and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites, and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. Deuteronomy 1, verse 8. Behold, I am delivering the land in your presence; go in and inherit the land I swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give it to them and their seed after them.’
Judges Appointed
Deuteronomy 1, verse 9. “So I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I alone am not able to bear you. Deuteronomy 1, verse 10. The Lord your God multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. Deuteronomy 1, verse 11. May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you, just as He said. Deuteronomy 1, verse 12. How can I alone bear your labors, your burdens, and your lawsuits? Deuteronomy 1, verse 13. Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them leaders over you.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 14. “Then you answered me and said, ‘The thing you told us to do is good.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 15. So I took from you wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men and made them leaders over you: leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; judges to interpret the law for you. Deuteronomy 1, verse 16. “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the resident alien with him. Deuteronomy 1, verse 17. You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall judge the small and the great; you shall not shrink before any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. The case too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 18. So I commanded you at that time all the words you should do.
Spies Sent Out
Deuteronomy 1, verse 19. “So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and fearful desert you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorite, as the Lord our God commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea. Deuteronomy 1, verse 20. Then I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorite, which the Lord our God is giving us. Deuteronomy 1, verse 21. Behold, the Lord your God is delivering the land to you in your presence; go up and take it as an inheritance, in the manner the Lord God of your fathers spoke to you; do not fear or be afraid.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 22. Then every one of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them spy out the land for us and report back to us the way we should go up in it, and the cities into which we should come.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 23. “The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe. Deuteronomy 1, verse 24. Then they departed and went up into the mountain, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and surveyed it. Deuteronomy 1, verse 25. They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and said, ‘The land the Lord our God gives us is good.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 26. “Nevertheless you would not go up, but disobeyed the word of the Lord your God; Deuteronomy 1, verse 27. and you murmured in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us. Deuteronomy 1, verse 28. Where can we go up? Our brethren caused our heart to revolt, saying, “The people are great and tall and stronger than we; and the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover, we saw the sons of giants there.”’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 29. “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified or afraid of them. Deuteronomy 1, verse 30. The Lord your God, who goes before your face, He will fight them with you in all things, as He did for you in Egypt Deuteronomy 1, verse 31. and in this desert, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way you went until you came to this place.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 32. Yet, in all this matter, you did not believe the Lord your God, Deuteronomy 1, verse 33. who went in the way before you to choose a place for you, leading you with the fire by night and the cloud by day and showing you the road, that you might travel it.
Israel's Rebellion Is Punished
Deuteronomy 1, verse 34. “So the Lord heard the sound of your words and was provoked to wrath, and took an oath, saying, Deuteronomy 1, verse 35. ‘Not one of these men shall see this good land I swore to give their fathers Deuteronomy 1, verse 36. except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he will see it, and to him and his sons I give the land on which he walked, because he is attached to the things of the Lord.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 37. The Lord was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not enter there. Deuteronomy 1, verse 38. Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he will enter there. Encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it. Deuteronomy 1, verse 39. Thus every young child who today has no knowledge of good or evil, they will enter there; to them I will give it, and they will have it as an inheritance. Deuteronomy 1, verse 40. But as for you, turn and camp in the desert road towards the Red Sea.’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 41. “Then you answered and said to me, ‘We sinned before the Lord our God; we will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ So when every one of you girded on his weapons of war and assembled together, you went up into the mountain. Deuteronomy 1, verse 42. “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Tell them, “Do not go up or fight, for I am not with you; lest you be crushed before your enemies.”’ Deuteronomy 1, verse 43. So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but transgressed the word of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the mountain. Deuteronomy 1, verse 44. Then the Amorite who dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and wounded you from Seir to Hormah. Deuteronomy 1, verse 45. Then you sat down and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not listen to your voice nor pay attention to you. Deuteronomy 1, verse 46. So you encamped in Kadesh many days, according to the days you spent there.