Deuteronomy 1

Introduction to Moses’ First Address

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.H1697H4872H1696H3478H5676H3383H4057H6160H4136H5489H6290H8603H3837H2698H17742Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai

to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.H259H6240H3117H2722H1870H2022H8165H69473But 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.H705H8141H6249H6240H2320H259H2320H4872H1696H1121H3478H3068H66804This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who had ruled in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei.H310H5221H5511H4428H567H3427H2809H5747H4428H1316H3427H6252H1545While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD's instructions as follows.H5676H3383H776H4124H2974H4872H874H8451H559

The Command to Leave Sinai

6"When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, 'You have stayed at this mountain long enough.H3068H430H1696H2722H559H3427H7227H20227It 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.H6437H5265H935H2022H567H7934H6160H2022H8219H5045H3220H2348H776H3669H3844H1419H5104H5104H65788Look, 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.'"H7200H5414H776H6440H935H3423H776H3068H7650H1H85H3327H3290H5414H2233H310

Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe

9Moses continued, "At that time I told you, 'You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.H559H6256H559H3201H5375H90510The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!H3068H430H7235H3117H3556H8064H723011And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!H3068H430H1H505H6471H3254H1288H169612But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?H349H5375H2960H4853H737913Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.'H3051H2450H582H995H3045H7626H7760H721814"Then you responded, 'Your plan is a good one.'H6030H559H1697H1696H2896H621315So 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.H3947H7218H7626H2450H582H3045H5414H7218H8269H505H8269H3967H8269H2572H8269H6235H7860H762616"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 decisionsH6680H8199H6256H559H8085H251H8199H6664H376H251H161617and 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.'H5234H6440H4941H8085H6996H1419H1481H6440H376H4941H430H1697H7185H7126H808518"At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.H6680H6256H1697H6213

Scouts Explore the Land

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,H5265H2722H3212H1419H3372H4057H7200H1870H2022H567H3068H430H6680H935H694720I said to you, 'You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us.H559H935H2022H567H3068H430H541421Look! 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!'H7200H3068H430H5414H776H6440H5927H3423H3068H430H1H1696H3372H286522"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.'H7126H559H7971H582H6440H2658H776H7725H1697H7725H1870H5927H5892H93523"This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.H1697H3190H5869H3947H8147H6240H582H259H376H762624They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it.H6437H5927H2022H935H5158H812H727025They 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.'H3947H6529H776H3027H3381H7725H1697H7725H559H2896H776H3068H430H5414

Israel’s Rebellion against the Lord

26"But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in.H14H5927H4784H6310H3068H43027You 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.H7279H168H559H3068H8135H3318H776H4714H5414H3027H567H804528Where 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!"'H5927H251H4549H3824H559H5971H1419H7311H5892H1419H1219H8064H7200H1121H606229"But I said to you, 'Don't be shocked or afraid of them!H559H6206H337230The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.H3068H430H1980H6440H3898H6213H4714H586931And 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.'H4057H7200H3068H430H5375H376H5375H1121H1870H1980H935H472532"But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God,H1697H539H3068H43033who 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.H1980H1870H6440H8446H4725H2583H784H3915H7200H1870H3212H6051H311934"When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,H3068H8085H6963H1697H7107H7650H55935'Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,H376H582H7451H1755H7200H2896H776H7650H5414H136except 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.'H2108H3612H1121H3312H7200H5414H776H834H1869H1121H4390H310H306837"And the LORD was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, 'Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land!H3068H599H1558H559H935H803338Instead, 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.H3091H1121H5126H5975H6440H935H2388H3478H515739I 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.H2945H559H957H1121H3117H3045H2896H7451H935H5414H342340As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea

.'H6437H5265H4057H1870H5488H322041"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.H6030H559H2398H3068H5927H3898H3068H430H6680H2296H376H3627H4421H1951H5927H202242"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.'H3068H559H559H5927H3898H7130H5062H6440H34143"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.H1696H8085H4784H6310H3068H5927H2102H5927H202244But 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.H567H3427H2022H3318H7125H7291H1682H6213H3807H8165H276745Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen.H7725H1058H6440H3068H3068H8085H6963H23846So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.H3427H6946H7227H3117H3117H3427