1These are the words Moses spoke to all the people of Israel east of the Jordan River in the wilderness, in the Jordan Valley, opposite Suph. This was between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir, to Kadesh Barnea.
3In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel, telling them everything Yahweh had commanded him to say.
4This was after Moses had defeated Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
5East of the Jordan River, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain these laws, saying,
6“Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.
7Turn around, begin your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and all the neighboring places: the Jordan Valley, the hills, the lowlands, the Negev, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and Lebanon—as far as the great river, the Euphrates River.
8Look, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to give to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.’
9At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry your burdens alone.
10Yahweh your God has made your numbers grow, and look, today you are as many as the stars in the sky.
11May Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous, and bless you, just as he promised!
12How can I alone handle your problems, your heavy loads, and your disagreements?
13Choose wise, understanding, and well-respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”
14You answered me, “What you have said is a good thing to do.”
15So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and well-known men, and I appointed them as your leaders: commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers for your tribes.
16At that time I commanded your judges, “Listen to cases between your fellow Israelites, and judge fairly between a person and their brother, and also the foreigner living among them.
17When you judge, do not show favoritism. Listen to everyone, whether important or unimportant. Do not be afraid of anyone, because judgment belongs to God. If a case is too difficult for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it.”
18At that time I commanded you to do all these things.
19We traveled from Horeb and went through that entire vast and terrifying wilderness you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as Yahweh our God commanded us. Then we arrived at Kadesh Barnea.
20I said to you, “You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God is giving to us.
21Look, Yahweh your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it, just as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, told you. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.”
22All of you came to me and said, “Let’s send men ahead of us to explore the land and bring back a report about the route we should take and the cities we will encounter.”
23I thought this was a good idea. So I chose twelve of your men, one from each tribe.
24They turned and went up into the hill country. They reached the Valley of Eshcol and explored it.
25They took some fruit from the land, brought it back to us, and reported, “The land Yahweh our God is giving us is good.”
26But you refused to go up and rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God.
27You complained in your tents and said, “Yahweh brought us out of Egypt because he hated us, so he could hand us over to the Amorites and destroy us.
28Where are we going? Our brothers have discouraged us by saying, ‘The people are bigger and taller than we are. The cities are large and fortified up to the sky. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there!’”
29Then I told you, “Don’t be afraid or terrified of them.
30Yahweh your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as he did in Egypt right before your eyes,
31and in the wilderness. There you saw how Yahweh your God carried you, like a father carries his son, the entire way you traveled until you reached this place.”
32Yet, even after all this, you did not trust Yahweh your God,
33who went ahead of you on the journey to find a place for you to camp. He appeared as fire by night to show you which way to go, and as a cloud by day.
34Yahweh heard what you said, became angry, and swore,
35“Not one of the men in this evil generation will see the good land I promised to your ancestors,
36except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his children the land he has walked on, because he completely followed Yahweh.”
37Yahweh was also angry with me because of you and said, “You will not enter there either.
38Joshua, the son of Nun, who serves you, will go in there. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it.
39Additionally, your little children, whom you said would be captured or killed, and your children who today don’t know right from wrong, they will go in there. I will give it to them, and they will possess it.
40But as for you, turn around and travel into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”
41Then you answered me, “We have sinned against Yahweh. We will go up and fight, just as Yahweh our God commanded us.” Each of you put on your weapons of war and confidently went up into the hill country.
42But Yahweh told me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go up or fight, because I am not with you. Otherwise, you will be defeated by your enemies.’”
43I told you this, but you didn’t listen. Instead, you rebelled against Yahweh’s command, acted arrogantly, and went up into the hill country.
44The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you like bees, defeating you in Seir all the way to Hormah.
45You returned and cried before Yahweh, but Yahweh did not listen to your cries or pay attention to you.
46So you remained in Kadesh for a long time, as many days as you had stayed there before.