Beyond the Jordan, Moses begins to speak
1These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. 2It is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir. 3In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the Israelites just as Yahweh had commanded him concerning them, 4after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. 5Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law. He said: 6Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, “You have stayed at this mountain long enough. 7Turn now, set out, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors — the Arabah, the hill country, the lowland, the Negev, the seacoast — the land of the Canaanites and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8See, I have placed the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land Yahweh swore to give your fathers — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to them and to their descendants after them.”
Leaders chosen for the tribes
9At that time I said to you, “I am not able to carry you by myself. 10Yahweh your God has multiplied you until today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky. 11May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times more and bless you, just as he promised. 12How can I bear your troubles, your burdens, and your disputes all by myself? 13Choose for yourselves wise, discerning, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them as your leaders.” 14You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.” 15So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected, and appointed them as your leaders — commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens — and officials for your tribes. 16At that time I charged your judges, “Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother, or the foreigner who lives among you. 17Show no partiality in judgment; hear the small and the great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.” 18And at that time I commanded you everything you were to do.
The spies scout the land
19Then we set out from Horeb and crossed that whole great and terrifying wilderness you have seen, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us, and we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God is giving us. 21See, Yahweh your God has set the land before you. Go up and take possession of it, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” 22Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring back a report on the route we should take and the towns we will come to.” 23This seemed good to me, so I chose twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. 24They set out, climbed into the hill country, came to the Valley of Eshcol, and scouted it out. 25They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands, brought it down to us, and reported back, “The land Yahweh our God is giving us is good.” 26But you were not willing to go up; you rebelled against the word of Yahweh your God. 27You grumbled in your tents and said, “Yahweh hates us. That is why he brought us out of Egypt — to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us. 28Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified up to the sky; and we even saw the sons of the Anakim there.’” 29I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30Yahweh your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31and in the wilderness, where you saw how Yahweh your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all along the way you traveled until you reached this place.” 32But in spite of this, you did not trust Yahweh your God, 33who went before you on the journey to seek out a place for you to camp — by fire at night, so you could see the way you should go, and by cloud in the daytime.
Yahweh’s oath against that generation
34Yahweh heard what you said. He was angered and swore an oath, 35“Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land I swore to give your fathers, 36except Caleb son of Jephunneh — he will see it, and to him and his descendants I will give the land he walked on, because he followed Yahweh wholeheartedly.” 37Yahweh was angry with me too because of you, and said, “You also will not enter it. 38Joshua son of Nun, who stands in attendance before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel to take possession of it. 39And your little ones, whom you said would be carried off, your children who do not yet know good from evil — they will enter it. I will give it to them, and they will take possession of it. 40But as for you, turn and set out for the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.”
Defeat at Hormah
41You answered me, “We have sinned against Yahweh. We will go up and fight, just as Yahweh our God commanded us.” So every one of you strapped on his weapons of war, ready to go up into the hill country. 42But Yahweh said to me, “Tell them: Do not go up and do not fight, for I am not among you — you will be struck down before your enemies.” 43I told you this, but you did not listen. You rebelled against the word of Yahweh and, in your arrogance, went up into the hill country. 44The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you, chased you like a swarm of bees, and beat you down in Seir, all the way to Hormah. 45You came back and wept before Yahweh, but Yahweh would not listen to your voice or pay attention to you. 46So you stayed at Kadesh a long time — as long as you did stay there.
