Deuteronomy 1

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in a the Arabah opposite b Suph, between c Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to d Kadesh-barnea. 3 e In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, 4 after f he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and g Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in h Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, i in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6 "The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, j 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to k the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in a the Arabah, l in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and l by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, m to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.'

Leaders Appointed

9 "At that time n I said to you, 'I am not able to bear you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, o you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 p May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, q as he has promised you! 12 r How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? 13 s Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.' 14 And you answered me, 'The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.' 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, t and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, 'Hear the cases between your brothers, and u judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. 17 v You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for w the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall x bring to me, and I will hear it.' 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

Israel's Refusal to Enter the Land

19 "Then we set out from Horeb and y went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And z we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. a Do not fear or be dismayed.' 22 Then all of you came near me and said, 'Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.' 23 The thing seemed good to me, and b I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. 24 And c they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, 'It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.'

26 "Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And d you murmured in your tents and said, 'Because the Lord e hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, f to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? g Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, h "The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen i the sons of the Anakim there."' 29 Then I said to you, 'Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God who goes before you j will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God k carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.' 32 Yet in spite of this word l you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 m who went before you in the way n to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

The Penalty for Israel's Rebellion

34 "And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore, 35 o 'Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36 p except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!' 37 Even with me q the Lord was angry on your account and said, 'You also shall not go in there. 38 r Joshua the son of Nun, r who stands before you, he shall enter. s Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 And as for t your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today u have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40 But as for you, v turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.'

41 "Then you answered me, w 'We have sinned against the Lord. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.' And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. 42 And the Lord said to me, x 'Say to them, Do not go up or fight, y for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.' 43 So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and z presumptuously went up into the hill country. 44 a Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you b as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as c Hormah. 45 And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. 46 So d you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.

  1. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 3:17
    The Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.
  2. Cross References
    Numbers 21:14
    Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, "Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon.
  3. Cross References
    1 Samuel 25:1
    Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
  4. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 2:14
    And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.
    Deuteronomy 9:23
    And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, 'Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,' then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and did not believe him or obey his voice.
    Numbers 13:26
    And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
    Numbers 32:8
    Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
    Numbers 34:4
    And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon.
  5. Cross References
    Numbers 33:38
    And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.
  6. Cross References
    Numbers 21:21 - 32
    Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying.
  7. Cross References
    Numbers 21:33 - 35
    Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
  8. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 3:1
    Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
    Deuteronomy 3:10
    All the cities of the tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
    Joshua 12:4
    And Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei
    Joshua 13:12
    All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); these Moses had struck and driven out.
  9. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:1
    These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 2:3
    You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward
    Exodus 19:1
    On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
    Numbers 10:11
    In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony.
  11. Cross References
    Numbers 13:29
    The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.
  12. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 1:1
    These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
  13. Cross References
    Joshua 9:1
    As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this.
  14. Cross References
    Joshua 9:1
    As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this.
  15. Cross References
    Genesis 12:7
    Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To y...
    Genesis 13:14 - 15
    The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated...
    Genesis 15:18
    On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram...
    Genesis 17:7 - 8
    And I will establish my covenant between me and...
    Genesis 26:3 - 4
    Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you an...
    Genesis 28:13 - 14
    And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "...
    Genesis 50:24
    And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to...
  16. Cross References
    Numbers 11:14
    I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me.
    Exodus 18:18
    You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
  17. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 10:22
    Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
    Deuteronomy 28:62
    Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
    Genesis 15:5
    And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.
  18. Cross References
    2 Samuel 24:3
    But Joab said to the king, "May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?
  19. Cross References
    Genesis 12:2
    And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
    Genesis 22:17
    I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.
    Genesis 26:3
    Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
    Genesis 26:24
    And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.
  20. Cross References
    1 Kings 3:8 - 9
    And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
  21. Cross References
    Exodus 18:21
    Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
    Numbers 11:16 - 17
    Then the Lord said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.
  22. Cross References
    Exodus 18:25
    Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
  23. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 16:18
    You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
    John 7:24
    Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.
  24. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 16:19
    You shall not pervert justice. You shall not sh...
    Exodus 23:2 - 3
    You shall not fall in with the many to do evil,...
    Leviticus 19:15
    You shall do no injustice in court. You shall n...
    2 Chronicles 19:7
    Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you....
    Proverbs 24:23
    These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality ...
    Proverbs 28:21
    To show partiality is not good, but for a piece...
    Malachi 2:9
    And so I make you despised and abased before al...
    James 2:1
    My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the...
    James 2:9
    But if you show partiality, you are committing ...
  25. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 19:6
    And said to the judges, "Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment.
    Exodus 21:6
    Then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
  26. Cross References
    Exodus 18:22
    And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
    Exodus 18:26
    And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
  27. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 8:15
    Who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock.
    Deuteronomy 32:10
    He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
    Jeremiah 2:6
    They did not say, 'Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?
    Numbers 10:12
    And the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran.
  28. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 1:2
    It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.
  29. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:8
    It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
    Joshua 1:9
    Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
  30. Cross References
    Numbers 13:3
    So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel.
  31. Cross References
    Numbers 13:22 - 27
    They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. ( Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
  32. Cross References
    Psalms 106:25
    They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
    Numbers 14:1 - 4
    Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night.
  33. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 9:28
    Lest the land from which you brought us say, "Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.
  34. Cross References
    Joshua 7:7
    And Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan!
  35. Cross References
    Joshua 14:8
    But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.
  36. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 9:1 - 2
    Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves, cities great and fortified up to heaven.
    Numbers 13:28 - 33
    However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
  37. Cross References
    Numbers 13:22
    They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. ( Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
  38. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 3:22
    You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord you...
    Exodus 14:14
    The Lord will fight for you, and you have only ...
    Exodus 14:25
    Clogging their chariot wheels so that they drov...
    Joshua 10:14
    There has been no day like it before or since, ...
    Joshua 10:42
    And Joshua captured all these kings and their l...
    Joshua 23:3
    And you have seen all that the Lord your God ha...
    Joshua 23:10
    One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since...
    Nehemiah 4:20
    In the place where you hear the sound of the tr...
  39. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:11 - 12
    Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions.
    Exodus 19:4
    You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
    Isaiah 46:3 - 4
    Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb.
    Isaiah 63:9
    In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
    Hosea 11:3
    Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.
  40. Cross References
    Psalms 106:24
    Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.
    Jude 1:5
    Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
  41. Cross References
    Exodus 13:21
    And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
  42. Cross References
    Numbers 10:33
    So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them.
  43. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 2:15
    For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.
    Numbers 14:20 - 30
    Then the Lord said, "I have pardoned, according to your word.
  44. Cross References
    Numbers 14:30
    Not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
    Joshua 14:9
    And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.
  45. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:21
    Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because...
    Deuteronomy 32:51
    Because you broke faith with me in the midst of...
    Deuteronomy 34:4
    And the Lord said to him, "This is the land of ...
    Numbers 20:12
    And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because ...
    Numbers 27:13 - 14
    When you have seen it, you also shall be gather...
    Psalms 106:32
    They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and ...
  46. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:3
    The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken.
    Deuteronomy 31:7
    Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.
    Exodus 24:13
    So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.
    1 Samuel 16:22
    And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.
  47. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:3
    The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken.
    Deuteronomy 31:7
    Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.
    Exodus 24:13
    So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.
    1 Samuel 16:22
    And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.
  48. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:7
    Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.
    Deuteronomy 31:23
    And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.
    Numbers 27:18 - 20
    So the Lord said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
  49. Cross References
    Numbers 14:3
    Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?
    Numbers 14:31
    But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected.
  50. Cross References
    Isaiah 7:15 - 16
    He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
  51. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 2:1
    Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir.
    Numbers 14:25
    Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
  52. Cross References
    Numbers 14:40
    And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, "Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.
  53. Cross References
    Numbers 14:42
    Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies.
  54. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:17
    Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?
  55. Cross References
    Numbers 14:44
    But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp.
  56. Cross References
    Numbers 14:45
    Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.
  57. Cross References
    Psalms 118:12
    They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
    Isaiah 7:18
    In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
  58. Cross References
    Numbers 21:3
    And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.
  59. Cross References
    Numbers 20:1
    And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.
    Numbers 20:22
    And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
    Judges 11:17
    Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Please let us pass through your land,' but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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