^{1 Ref} These are the words which Moses spake unto all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.

^{2 Ref} It is eleven days' `journey' from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.

^{3 Ref} And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that Jehovah had given him in commandment unto them;

^{4 Ref} after he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.

^{5 Ref} Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

^{6 Ref} Jehovah our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mountain:

^{7 Ref} turn you, and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites, and unto all `the places' nigh thereunto, in the Arabah, in the hill-country, and in the lowland, and in the South, and by the sea-shore, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

^{8 Ref} Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

^{9 Ref} And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:

^{10 Ref} Jehovah your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

^{11 Ref} Jehovah, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!

^{12 Ref} How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

^{13 Ref} Take you wise men, and understanding, and known, according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.

¹⁴ And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good `for us' to do.

^{15 Ref} So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.

^{16 Ref} And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear `the causes' between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the sojourner that is with him.

^{17 Ref} Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.

^{18 Ref} And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

^{19 Ref} And we journeyed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which ye saw, by the way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as Jehovah our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

^{20 Ref} And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the hill-country of the Amorites, which Jehovah our God giveth unto us.

^{21 Ref} Behold, Jehovah thy God hath set the land before thee: go up, take possession, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath spoken unto thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.

^{22 Ref} And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up, and the cities unto which we shall come.

^{23 Ref} And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe:

^{24 Ref} and they turned and went up into the hill-country, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.

²⁵ And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which Jehovah our God giveth unto us.

^{26 Ref} Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Jehovah your God:

^{27 Ref} and ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because Jehovah hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

^{28 Ref} Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart to melt, saying, The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.

²⁹ Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

^{30 Ref} Jehovah your God who goeth before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

^{31 Ref} and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that Jehovah thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto this place.

^{32 Ref} Yet in this thing ye did not believe Jehovah your God,

^{33 Ref} who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in the cloud by day.

^{34 Ref} And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

^{35 Ref} Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see the good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

^{36 Ref} save Caleb the son of Jephunneh: he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed Jehovah.

^{37 Ref} Also Jehovah was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither:

^{38 Ref} Joshua the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage thou him; for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

^{39 Ref} Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, and your children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

^{40 Ref} But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.

^{41 Ref} Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against Jehovah, we will go up and fight, according to all that Jehovah our God commanded us. And ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and were forward to go up into the hill-country.

^{42 Ref} And Jehovah said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

^{43 Ref} So I spake unto you, and ye hearkened not; but ye rebelled against the commandment of Jehovah, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill-country.

^{44 Ref} And the Amorites, that dwelt in that hill-country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even unto Hormah.

^{45 Ref} And ye returned and wept before Jehovah; but Jehovah hearkened not to your voice, nor gave ear unto you.

^{46 Ref} So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode `there'.

^{1 Ref} These are the words which Moses said to all Israel on the far side of Jordan, in the waste land in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran on the one side, and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other.

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

^{3 Ref} Now in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses gave to the children of Israel all the orders which the Lord had given him for them;

^{4 Ref} After he had overcome Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, ruling in Ashtaroth, at Edrei:

^{5 Ref} On the far side of Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses gave the people this law, saying,

^{6 Ref} The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have been long enough in this mountain:

^{7 Ref} Make a move now, and go on your way into the hill-country of the Amorites and the places near it, in the Arabah and the hill-country and in the lowlands and in the South and by the seaside, all the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

^{8 Ref} See, all the land is before you: go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them.

^{9 Ref} At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself;

^{10 Ref} The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number.

^{11 Ref} May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said!

^{12 Ref} How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments?

^{13 Ref} Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

¹⁴ And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say.

^{15 Ref} So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes.

^{16 Ref} And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him.

^{17 Ref} In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.

^{18 Ref} And at that time I gave you all the orders which you were to do.

^{19 Ref} Then we went on from Horeb, through all that great and cruel waste which you saw, on our way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the Lord gave us orders; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

^{20 Ref} And I said to you, You have come to the hill-country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.

^{21 Ref} See now, the Lord your God has put the land into your hands: go up and take it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you; have no fear and do not be troubled.

^{22 Ref} And you came near to me, every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us to go through the land with care and give us an account of the way we are to go and the towns to which we will come.

^{23 Ref} And what you said seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from among you, one from every tribe;

^{24 Ref} And they went up into the hill-country and came to the valley of Eshcol, and saw what was there.

²⁵ And taking in their hands some of the fruit of the land, they came down again to us, and gave us their account, saying, It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.

^{26 Ref} But going against the order of the Lord your God, you would not go up:

^{27 Ref} And you made an angry outcry in your tents, and said, In his hate for us the Lord has taken us out of the land of Egypt, to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction.

^{28 Ref} Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts feeble with fear by saying, The people are greater and taller than we are, and the towns are great and walled up to heaven; and more than this, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.

²⁹ Then I said to you, Have no fear of them.

^{30 Ref} The Lord your God who goes before you will be fighting for you, and will do such wonders as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

^{31 Ref} And in the waste land, where you have seen how the Lord was supporting you, as a man does his son, in all your journeying till you came to this place.

^{32 Ref} But for all this, you had no faith in the Lord your God,

^{33 Ref} Who goes before you on your way, looking for a place where you may put up your tents, in fire by night, lighting up the way you are to go, and in a cloud by day.

^{34 Ref} And the Lord, hearing your words, was angry, and said with an oath,

^{35 Ref} Truly, not one of this evil generation will see that good land which I said I would give to your fathers,

^{36 Ref} But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart.

^{37 Ref} And, in addition, the Lord was angry with me because of you, saying, You yourself will not go into it:

^{38 Ref} Joshua, the son of Nun, your servant, he will go into the land: say to him that he is to be strong, for he will be Israel's guide into their heritage.

^{39 Ref} And your little ones, who, you said, would come into strange hands, your children, who now have no knowledge of good or evil, they will go into that land, and to them I will give it and it will be theirs.

^{40 Ref} But as for you, go back, journeying into the waste land by the way of the Red Sea.

^{41 Ref} Then you said to me, We have done evil against the Lord, we will go up to the attack, as the Lord our God has given us orders. And arming yourselves every one, you made ready to go up without care into the hill-country.

^{42 Ref} And the Lord said to me, Say to them, Do not go up to the attack; for I am not among you, and you will be overcome by those who are against you.

^{43 Ref} This I said to you, but you gave no attention and went against the orders of the Lord, and in your pride went up into the hill-country.

^{44 Ref} And the Amorites who were in the hill-country came out against you and put you to flight, rushing after you like bees, and overcame you in Seir, driving you even as far as Hormah.

^{45 Ref} And you came back, weeping before the Lord; but the Lord gave no attention to your cries and did not give ear to you.

^{46 Ref} So you were kept waiting in Kadesh for a long time.