Deuteronomy 1-3; Psalms 53 - Prayer Tents

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.H1697H4872H1696H3478H5676H3383H4057H6160H4136H5489H6290H8603H3837H2698H1774 2Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.H259H6240H3117H2722H1870H2022H8165H6947 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.H705H8141H6249H6240H2320H259H2320H4872H1696H1121H3478H3068H6680 4This 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.H310H5221H5511H4428H567H3427H2809H5747H4428H1316H3427H6252H154 5While 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.H3068H430H1696H2722H559H3427H7227H2022 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.H6437H5265H935H2022H567H7934H6160H2022H8219H5045H3220H2348H776H3669H3844H1419H5104H5104H6578 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.'"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.H559H6256H559H3201H5375H905 10The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!H3068H430H7235H3117H3556H8064H7230 11And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!H3068H430H1H505H6471H3254H1288H1696 12But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?H349H5375H2960H4853H7379 13Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.'H3051H2450H582H995H3045H7626H7760H7218 14"Then you responded, 'Your plan is a good one.'H6030H559H1697H1696H2896H6213 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.H3947H7218H7626H2450H582H3045H5414H7218H8269H505H8269H3967H8269H2572H8269H6235H7860H7626 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 decisionsH6680H8199H6256H559H8085H251H8199H6664H376H251H1616 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.'H5234H6440H4941H8085H6996H1419H1481H6440H376H4941H430H1697H7185H7126H8085 18"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,H5265H2722H3212H1419H3372H4057H7200H1870H2022H567H3068H430H6680H935H6947 20I said to you, 'You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us.H559H935H2022H567H3068H430H5414 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!'H7200H3068H430H5414H776H6440H5927H3423H3068H430H1H1696H3372H2865 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.'H7126H559H7971H582H6440H2658H776H7725H1697H7725H1870H5927H5892H935 23"This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.H1697H3190H5869H3947H8147H6240H582H259H376H7626 24They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it.H6437H5927H2022H935H5158H812H7270 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.'H3947H6529H776H3027H3381H7725H1697H7725H559H2896H776H3068H430H5414

Israel’s Rebellion against the Lord

26"But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in.H14H5927H4784H6310H3068H430 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.H7279H168H559H3068H8135H3318H776H4714H5414H3027H567H8045 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!"'H5927H251H4549H3824H559H5971H1419H7311H5892H1419H1219H8064H7200H1121H6062 29"But I said to you, 'Don't be shocked or afraid of them!H559H6206H3372 30The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.H3068H430H1980H6440H3898H6213H4714H5869 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.'H4057H7200H3068H430H5375H376H5375H1121H1870H1980H935H4725 32"But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God,H1697H539H3068H430 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.H1980H1870H6440H8446H4725H2583H784H3915H7200H1870H3212H6051H3119 34"When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,H3068H8085H6963H1697H7107H7650H559 35'Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,H376H582H7451H1755H7200H2896H776H7650H5414H1 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.'H2108H3612H1121H3312H7200H5414H776H834H1869H1121H4390H310H3068 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!H3068H599H1558H559H935H8033 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.H3091H1121H5126H5975H6440H935H2388H3478H5157 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.H2945H559H957H1121H3117H3045H2896H7451H935H5414H3423 40As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.'H6437H5265H4057H1870H5488H3220 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.H6030H559H2398H3068H5927H3898H3068H430H6680H2296H376H3627H4421H1951H5927H2022 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.'H3068H559H559H5927H3898H7130H5062H6440H341 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.H1696H8085H4784H6310H3068H5927H2102H5927H2022 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.H567H3427H2022H3318H7125H7291H1682H6213H3807H8165H2767 45Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen.H7725H1058H6440H3068H3068H8085H6963H238 46So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.H3427H6946H7227H3117H3117H3427

Deuteronomy 2

Remembering Israel’s Wanderings

2"Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, just as the LORD had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time.H6437H5265H4057H1870H5488H3220H3068H1696H5437H2022H8165H7227H3117 2"Then at last the LORD said to me,H3068H559H559 3'You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north.H5437H2022H7227H6437H6828 4Give these orders to the people: "You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful.H6680H5971H559H5674H1366H251H1121H6215H3427H8165H3372H3966H8104 5Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land.H1624H5414H776H7272H4096H3709H5414H2022H8165H6215H3425 6If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it.H7666H400H3701H398H3739H4325H3701H8354 7For the LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing."'H3068H430H1288H4639H3027H3045H3212H1419H4057H705H8141H3068H430H2637H1697 8"So we bypassed the territory of our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We avoided the road through the Arabah Valley that comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber. "Then as we turned north along the desert route through Moab,H5674H251H1121H6215H3427H8165H1870H6160H359H6100H6437H5674H1870H4057H4124 9the LORD warned us, 'Do not bother the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given them Ar as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.'"H3068H559H6696H4124H1624H4421H5414H776H3425H5414H6144H1121H3876H3425 10(A race of giants called the Emites had once lived in the area of Ar. They were as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites, another race of giants.H368H3427H6440H5971H1419H7227H7311H6062 11Both the Emites and the Anakites are also known as the Rephaites, though the Moabites call them Emites.H1992H2803H7497H6062H4125H7121H368 12In earlier times the Horites had lived in Seir, but they were driven out and displaced by the descendants of Esau, just as Israel drove out the people of Canaan when the LORD gave Israel their land.)H2752H3427H8165H6440H1121H6215H3423H8045H6440H3427H3478H6213H776H3425H3068H5414 13Moses continued, "Then the LORD said to us, 'Get moving. Cross the Zered Brook.' So we crossed the brook.H6965H5674H5158H2218H5674H5158H2218 14"Thirty-eight years passed from the time we first left Kadesh-barnea until we finally crossed the Zered Brook! By then, all the men old enough to fight in battle had died in the wilderness, as the LORD had vowed would happen.H3117H1980H6947H5674H5158H2218H7970H8083H8141H1755H582H4421H8552H7130H4264H3068H7650 15The LORD struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community.H3027H3068H2000H7130H4264H8552 16"When all the men of fighting age had died,H582H4421H8552H4191H7130H5971 17the LORD said to me,H3068H1696H559 18'Today you will cross the border of Moab at ArH5674H6144H1366H4124H3117 19and enter the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. But do not bother them or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.'"H7126H4136H1121H5983H6696H1624H5414H776H1121H5983H3425H5414H1121H3876H3425 20(That area was once considered the land of the Rephaites, who had lived there, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummites.H2803H776H7497H7497H3427H6440H5984H7121H2157 21They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land.H5971H1419H7227H7311H6062H3068H8045H6440H3423H3427 22He had done the same for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, for he destroyed the Horites so they could settle there in their place. The descendants of Esau live there to this day.H6213H1121H6215H3427H8165H8045H2752H6440H3423H3427H3117 23A similar thing happened when the Caphtorites from Crete invaded and destroyed the Avvites, who had lived in villages in the area of Gaza.)H5761H3427H2699H5804H3732H3318H3731H8045H3427 24Moses continued, "Then the LORD said, 'Now get moving! Cross the Arnon Gorge. Look, I will hand over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy the land.H6965H5265H5674H5158H769H7200H5414H3027H5511H567H4428H2809H776H2490H3423H1624H4421 25Beginning today I will make people throughout the earth terrified because of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear.'"H3117H2490H5414H6343H3374H6440H5971H8064H8085H8088H7264H2342H6440

Victory over Sihon of Heshbon

26Moses continued, "From the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with this proposal of peace.H7971H4397H4057H6932H5511H4428H2809H1697H7965H559 27'Let us travel through your land. We will stay on the main road and won't turn off into the fields on either side.H5674H776H3212H1870H1870H5493H3225H8040 28Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land.H7666H400H3701H398H5414H4325H3701H8354H5674H7272 29The descendants of Esau who live in Seir allowed us to go through their country, and so did the Moabites, who live in Ar. Let us pass through until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.'H1121H6215H3427H8165H4125H3427H6144H6213H5674H3383H776H3068H430H5414 30"But King Sihon of Heshbon refused to allow us to pass through, because the LORD your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat him, as he has now done.H5511H4428H2809H14H5674H3068H430H7185H7307H3824H553H5414H3027H3117 31"Then the LORD said to me, 'Look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to conquer and occupy his land.'H3068H559H7200H2490H5414H5511H776H6440H2490H3423H3423H776 32"Then King Sihon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jahaz.H5511H3318H7125H5971H4421H3096 33But the LORD our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people.H3068H430H5414H6440H5221H1121H5971 34We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone—men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared.H3920H5892H6256H2763H4962H802H2945H5892H7604H8300 35We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked.H929H962H7998H5892H3920 36"The LORD our God also helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us.H6177H8193H5158H769H5892H5158H1568H7151H7682H3068H430H5414H6440 37However, we avoided the land of the Ammonites all along the Jabbok River and the towns in the hill country—all the places the LORD our God had commanded us to leave alone.H776H1121H5983H7126H3027H5158H2999H5892H2022H3068H430H6680

Deuteronomy 3

Victory over Og of Bashan

3"Next we turned and headed for the land of Bashan, where King Og and his entire army attacked us at Edrei.H6437H5927H1870H1316H5747H4428H1316H3318H7125H5971H4421H1542But the LORD told me, 'Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, and I will give you all his land. Treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.'H3068H559H3372H5414H5971H776H3027H6213H6213H5511H4428H567H3427H28093"So the LORD our God handed King Og and all his people over to us, and we killed them all. Not a single person survived.H3068H430H5414H3027H5747H4428H1316H5971H5221H7604H83004We conquered all sixty of his towns—the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Bashan. Not a single town escaped our conquest.H3920H5892H6256H7151H3947H8346H5892H2256H709H4467H5747H13165These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time.H5892H1219H1364H2346H1817H1280H6521H5892H3966H72356We completely destroyed the kingdom of Bashan, just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshbon. We destroyed all the people in every town we conquered—men, women, and children alike.H2763H6213H5511H4428H2809H2763H4962H802H2945H58927But we kept all the livestock for ourselves and took plunder from all the towns.H929H7998H5892H9628"So we took the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—all the way from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon.H3947H6256H3947H3027H8147H4428H567H776H5676H3383H5158H769H2022H27689(Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Senir.)H2768H6722H7121H8303H567H7121H814910We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau and all Gilead and Bashan, as far as the towns of Salecah and Edrei, which were part of Og's kingdom in Bashan.H5892H4334H1568H1316H5548H154H5892H4467H5747H131611(King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)H5747H4428H1316H7604H3499H7497H6210H6210H1270H3808H7237H1121H5983H8672H520H753H702H520H7341H520H376

Land Division East of the Jordan

12"When we took possession of this land, I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory beyond Aroer along the Arnon Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns.H776H3423H6256H6177H5158H769H2677H2022H1568H5892H5414H7206H142513Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan—Og's former kingdom—to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This entire Argob region of Bashan used to be known as the land of the Rephaites.H3499H1568H1316H4467H5747H5414H2677H7626H4519H2256H709H1316H1931H7121H776H749714Jair, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh, conquered the whole Argob region in Bashan, all the way to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. Jair renamed this region after himself, calling it the Towns of Jair, as it is still known today.)H2971H1121H4519H3947H2256H709H1366H1651H4602H7121H8034H1316H2334H311715I gave Gilead to the clan of Makir.H5414H1568H435316But I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier.H7206H1425H5414H1568H5158H769H8432H5158H1366H5158H2999H1366H1121H598317They also received the Jordan Valley, all the way from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, with the Jordan River serving as the western boundary. To the east were the slopes of Pisgah.H6160H3383H1366H3672H3220H6160H4417H3220H798H794H421718"At that time I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan: 'Although the LORD your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them.H6680H6256H559H3068H430H5414H776H3423H5674H2502H6440H251H1121H3478H1121H242819Your wives, children, and numerous livestock, however, may stay behind in the towns I have given you.H802H2945H4735H3045H7227H4735H3427H5892H541420When the LORD has given security to the rest of the Israelites, as he has to you, and when they occupy the land the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan River, then you may all return here to the land I have given you.'H3068H5117H251H3423H776H3068H430H5414H5676H3383H7725H376H3425H5414

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

21"At that time I gave Joshua this charge: 'You have seen for yourself everything the LORD your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan.H6680H3091H6256H559H5869H7200H3068H430H6213H8147H4428H3068H6213H4467H567422Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.'H3372H3068H430H389823"At that time I pleaded with the LORD and said,H2603H3068H6256H55924'O Sovereign LORD, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do?H136H3069H2490H7200H5650H1433H2389H3027H410H8064H776H6213H4639H136925Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.'H5674H7200H2896H776H5676H3383H2896H2022H384426"But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. 'That's enough!' he declared. 'Speak of it no more.H3068H5674H8085H3068H559H7227H1696H3254H169727But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River.H5927H7218H6449H5375H5869H3220H6828H8486H4217H7200H5869H5674H338328Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.'H6680H3091H2388H553H5674H6440H5971H5157H776H720029So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor.H3427H1516H4136H1047

Psalms 53

53[For the choir director: A meditation; a psalm of David.] Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!H5329H4257H4905H1732H5036H559H3820H430H7843H8581H5766H6213H2896 2God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.H430H8259H8064H1121H120H7200H3426H7919H1875H430 3But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!H5472H3162H444H6213H2896H259 4Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to God.H6466H205H3045H398H5971H398H3899H7121H430 5Terror will grip them, terror like they have never known before. God will scatter the bones of your enemies. You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.H6343H6342H6343H430H6340H6106H2583H954H430H3988 6Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When God restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.H5414H3444H3478H6726H430H7725H7622H5971H3290H1523H3478H8055