The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

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- Chapter 1 -

(Exodus 33:1–6)

These bee the wordes which Moses spake vnto all Israel, on this side Iorden in the wildernesse, in the plaine, ouer against the red Sea, betweene Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.

There are eleuen dayes iourney from Horeb vnto Kadesh-barnea, by the way of mout Seir.

And it came to passe in the first day of the eleuenth moneth, in the fourtieth yeere that Moses spake vnto the children of Israel according vnto all that the Lord had giuen him in commandement vnto them,

After that he had slaine Sihon the king of the Amorites which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, which dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei.

On this side Iorden in the lande of Moab began Moses to declare this lawe, saying,

The Lord our God spake vnto vs in Horeb, saying, Ye haue dwelt long ynough in this mount,

Turne you and depart, and goe vnto the mountaine of the Amorites, and vnto all places neere thereunto in the plaine, in the mountaine, or in the valley: both Southwarde, and to the Sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and vnto Lebanon: euen vnto the great riuer, the riuer Perath.

Beholde, I haue set the land before you: go in and possesse that land which the Lord sware vnto your fathers, Abraham, Izhak, and Iaakob, to giue vnto them and to their seede after them.

Moses Appoints Leaders

(Exodus 18:13–27)

And I spake vnto you the same time, saying, I am not able to beare you my selfe alone:

The Lord your God hath multiplied you: and beholde, ye are this day as the starres of heauen in nomber:

(The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many moe as ye are, and blesse you, as he hath promised you)

Howe can I alone beare your combrance and your charge, and your strife?

Bring you men of wisedome and of vnderstanding, and knowen among your tribes, and I will make them rulers ouer you:

Then ye answered me and said, The thing is good that thou hast commanded vs to doe.

So I tooke the chiefe of your tribes wise and knowen men, and made them rulers ouer you, captaines ouer thousands, and captaines ouer hundreds, and captaines ouer fiftie, and captaines ouer tenne, and officers among your tribes.

And I charged your iudges that same time, saying, Heare the controuersies betweene your brethren, and iudge righteously betweene euery man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

Ye shall haue no respect of person in iudgement, but shall heare the small aswell as the great: yee shall not feare the face of man: for the iudgement is Gods: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring vnto me, and I will heare it.

Also I commanded you the same time all the things which ye should doe.

Twelve Spies Sent Out

(Numbers 13:1–33)

Then we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wildernesse (as yee haue seene) by the way of the mountaine of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded vs: and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

And I saide vnto you, Yee are come vnto the mountaine of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doeth giue vnto vs.

Beholde, the Lord thy God hath layde the land before thee: go vp and possesse it, as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath saide vnto thee: feare not, neither be discouraged.

Then ye came vnto me euery one, and said, We wil send men before vs, to search vs out the land and to bring vs word againe, what way we must go vp by, and vnto what cities we shall come.

So the saying pleased me well, and I tooke twelue men of you, of euery tribe one.

Who departed, and went vp into the mountaine, and came vnto the riuer Eshcol, and searched out the land.

And tooke of the fruite of the land in their hands, and brought it vnto vs, and brought vs worde againe, and sayd, It is a good land, which the Lord our God doeth giue vs.

Israel’s Rebellion

(Numbers 14:1–12)

Notwithstanding, ye would not go vp, but were disobedient vnto the commandement of the Lord your God,

And murmured in your tentes, and sayd, Because the Lord hated vs, therefore hath hee brought vs out of the land of Egypt, to deliuer vs into the hand of the Amorites, and to destroy vs.

Whither shall we go vp? our brethren haue discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater, and taller then we: the cities are great and walled vp to heauen: and moreouer we haue seene the sonnes of the Anakims there.

But I sayd vnto you, Dread not, nor be afrayd of them.

The Lord your God, who goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did vnto you in Egypt before your eyes,

And in the wildernesse, where thou hast seene how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doeth beare his sonne, in all the way which ye haue gone, vntill ye came vnto this place.

Yet for all this ye did not beleeue the Lord your God,

Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tentes in, in fire by night, that ye might see what way to goe, and in a cloude by day.

Israel’s Penalty

(Numbers 14:20–35)

Then the Lord heard the voyce of your wordes, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

Surely there shall not one of these men of this froward generation, see that good land, which I sware to giue vnto your fathers,

Saue Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh: he shall see it, and to him will I giue the land that he hath troden vpon, and to his children, because he hath constantly followed the Lord.

Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not goe in thither,

But Ioshua the sonne of Nun which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: incourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherite it.

Moreouer, your children, which ye sayd should be a praye, and your sonnes, which in that day had no knowledge betweene good and euill, they shall go in thither, and vnto them wil I giue it, and they shall possesse it.

But as for you, turne backe, and take your iourney into the wildernesse by the way of the red Sea.

The Defeat at Hormah

(Numbers 14:40–45)

Then ye answered and sayd vnto me, We haue sinned against the Lord, we wil go vp, and fight, according to all that the Lord our God hath commanded vs: and ye armed you euery man to the warre, and were ready to goe vp into the mountaine.

But the Lord said vnto me, Say vnto them, Goe not vp, neither fight, (for I am not among you) least ye fall before your enemies.

And when I told you, ye would not heare, but rebelled against the commandement of the Lord, and were presumptuous, and went vp into the mountaine.

Then the Amorites which dwelt in that mountaine came out against you, and chased you (as bees vse to doe) and destroied you in Seir, euen vnto Hormah.

And when ye came againe, ye wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not heare your voyce, nor incline his eares vnto you.

So ye abode in Kadesh a long time, according to the time that ye had remained before.

(Exodus 33:1–6)

These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.

In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD

(a)

had given him in commandment to them,

after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.

Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying,

“The LORD our God

(b)

spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have lived long enough at this mountain.

Turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there: in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South, by the seashore, in the land of the Canaanites, and in Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

Behold,(c) I have set the land before you. Go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give to them and to their offspring

(d)

after them.’”

Moses Appoints Leaders

(Exodus 18:13–27)

I spoke to you at that time, saying, “I am not able to bear you myself alone.

The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the sky for multitude.

May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!

How can I myself alone bear your problems, your burdens, and your strife?

Take wise men of understanding who are respected among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”

You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.”

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and respected men, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.

I commanded your judges at that time, saying, “Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him.

You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.”

I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.

Twelve Spies Sent Out

(Numbers 13:1–33)

We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea.

I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God gives to us.

Behold, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.”

You came near to me, everyone of you, and said, “Let’s send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come.”

The thing pleased me well. I took twelve of your men, one man for every tribe.

They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.

They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, “It is a good land which the LORD our God gives to us.”

Israel’s Rebellion

(Numbers 14:1–12)

Yet you wouldn’t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God.

You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because the LORD hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’”

Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them.

The LORD your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

and in the wilderness where you have seen how that the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”

Yet in this thing you didn’t believe the LORD your God,

who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.

Israel’s Penalty

(Numbers 14:20–35)

The LORD heard the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying,

“Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers,

except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him and to his children, because he has wholly followed the LORD.”

Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, “You also shall not go in there.

Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

Moreover your little ones, whom you said would be captured or killed, your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there. I will give it to them, and they shall possess it.

But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

The Defeat at Hormah

(Numbers 14:40–45)

Then you answered and said to me, “We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us.” Every man of you put on his weapons of war, and presumed to go up into the hill country.

The LORD said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go up and don’t fight; for I am not among you, lest you be struck before your enemies.’”

So I spoke to you, and you didn’t listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill country.

The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah.

You returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD didn’t listen to your voice, nor turn his ear to you.

So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained.

Footnotes

(a)1:3 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.

(b)1:6 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).

(c)1:8 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

(d)1:8 or, seed