Deuteronomy 1; Deuteronomy 2

Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words Moses spoke to all of the people of Israel. At that time, they were in the desert east of the Jordan River. It's in the Arabah Valley across from Suph. They were between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.

2 It takes 11 days to go from Mount Horeb to Kadesh Barnea if you travel on the Mount Seir road.

3 It was now the 40th year since the people of Israel had left Egypt. On the first day of the 11th month, Moses spoke to them. He told them everything the LORD had commanded him to tell them.

4 They had already won the battle over Sihon. Sihon was the king of the Amorites. He had ruled in Heshbon. Israel had also won the battle over Og at Edrei. Og was the king of Bashan. He had ruled in Ashtaroth.

5 The people were east of the Jordan River in the territory of Moab. There Moses began to explain the law. Here is what he said.

6 The LORD our God spoke to us at Mount Horeb. He said, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

7 Take your tents down. Go into the hill country of the Amorites. Go to all of the people who are their neighbors. Go to the people who live in the Arabah Valley. Travel to the mountains and the western hills. Go to the people in the Negev Desert and along the coast. Travel to the land of Canaan and to Lebanon. Go as far as the great Euphrates River.

8 "I have given you all of that land. Go in and take it as your own. I took an oath. I promised I would give the land to your fathers. I promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I also said I would give it to their children after them."

9 At that time I spoke to you. I said, "You are too heavy a load for me to carry alone.

10 The LORD your God has increased your numbers. Today you are as many as the stars in the sky.

11 The LORD is the God of your people. May he increase your numbers a thousand times. May he bless you, just as he promised he would.

12 But I can't handle your problems and troubles all by myself. I can't settle your arguments.

13 "So choose some wise men from each of your tribes. They must understand how to give good advice. The people must have respect for them. I will appoint those men to have authority over you."

14 You answered me, "Your suggestion is good."

15 So I took the leading men of your tribes who were wise and respected. I appointed them to have authority over you. I made them commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. I appointed them to be officials over the tribes.

16 Here is what I commanded your judges at that time. I said, "Listen to your people's cases when they argue with one another. Judge them fairly. It doesn't matter whether the case is between fellow Israelites or between an Israelite and an outsider.

17 When you judge them, treat everyone the same. Listen to those who are important and those who are not. Don't be afraid of any man. God is the highest judge. Bring me any case that is too hard for you. I'll listen to it."

18 At that time I told you everything you should do.

19 The LORD our God commanded us to start out from Mount Horeb. So we did. We went toward the hill country of the Amorites. We traveled all through the huge and terrible desert you saw. Finally, we reached Kadesh Barnea.

20 Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites. The LORD our God is giving it to us.

21 The LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take it. Do what the LORD says. He's the God of your people. Don't be afraid. Don't lose hope."

22 Then all of you came to me. You said, "Let's send some men ahead of us. They can check out the land for us and bring back a report. They can suggest to us which way to go. They can tell us about the towns we'll come to."

23 That seemed like a good idea to me. So I chose 12 of you. I picked one man from each tribe.

24 They left and went up into the hill country. There they came to the Valley of Eshcol. They checked it out.

25 They got some of the fruit of that land. They brought it down to us and gave us their report. They said, "The LORD our God is giving us a good land."

26 But you wouldn't go up. You refused to obey the command of the LORD your God.

27 You spoke against him in your tents. You said, "The LORD hates us. That's why he brought us out of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites. He wanted to destroy us.

28 Where can we go? The men who checked out the land have made us lose hope. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are large. They have walls that reach up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.' "

29 Then I said to you, "Don't be terrified. Don't be afraid of them.

30 The LORD your God will go ahead of you. He will fight for you. With your own eyes you saw how he fought for you in Egypt.

31 "You also saw how the LORD your God brought you through the desert. He carried you everywhere you went, just as a father carries his son. And now you have arrived here."

32 In spite of that, you didn't trust in the LORD your God.

33 He went ahead of you on your journey. He was in the fire at night and in the cloud during the day. He found places for you to camp. He showed you the way you should go.

34 The LORD heard what you said. So he became angry. He took an oath and made a promise. He said,

35 "I promised to give this good land to your people long ago. But not one of you evil men who are alive today will see it.

36 "Only Caleb will see the land. He is the son of Jephunneh. I will give him and his children after him the land he walked on. He followed me with his whole heart."

37 Because of you, the LORD became angry with me also. He said, "You will not enter the land either.

38 But Joshua, the son of Nun, is your helper. Joshua will enter the land. Help him to be brave. Give him hope. He will lead Israel to take the land as their own.

39 "You said your little ones would be taken prisoner. But they will enter the land. They do not know right from wrong yet. But I will give them the land. They will take it as their own.

40 As for you, turn around. Start out toward the desert. Go along the road that leads to the Red Sea."

41 Then you replied, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight. We'll do just as the LORD our God has commanded us." So all of you got your swords and put them on. You thought it would be easy to go up into the hill country.

42 But the LORD spoke to me. He said, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight. I will not be with you. Your enemies will win the battle over you.' "

43 So I told you what the LORD said. But you wouldn't listen. You refused to obey his command. You were so filled with pride that you marched up into the hill country.

44 The Amorites who lived in those hills came out and attacked you. Like large numbers of bees they chased you. They beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.

45 You came back and sobbed in front of the Lord. But he didn't pay any attention to your sobs. He wouldn't listen to you.

46 So you stayed in Kadesh for many years. You spent a long time in that area.

Deuteronomy 2

1 We turned back and started out toward the desert. We went along the road that leads to the Red Sea. That's how the LORD had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

2 Then the LORD spoke to me. He said,

3 "You have made your way around this hill country long enough. So now turn north.

4 "Here are the orders I want you to give the people. Tell them, 'You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives. They are from the family line of Esau. They live in Seir. They will be afraid of you. But be very careful.

5 Do not make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any of their land. You will not have even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.

6 Pay them with silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.' "

7 The LORD your God has blessed you in everything your hands have done. He watched over you when you traveled through that huge desert. For these 40 years the LORD your God has been with you. So you have had everything you need.

8 We went on past our relatives. They are from the family line of Esau. They live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah Valley road. It comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber. We traveled along the desert road of Moab.

9 Then the LORD said to me, "Do not attack the Moabites. Do not even make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Moab to the people in the family line of Lot. I have given it to them as their own."

10 The Emites used to live there. They were strong people. There were large numbers of them. They were as tall as the Anakites.

11 Like the Anakites, they too were thought of as Rephaites. But the Moabites called them Emites.

12 The Horites used to live in Seir. But the people of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites to make room for themselves. Then they settled in their territory. They did just as Israel has done in the land the LORD gave them as their own.

13 The LORD said, "Now get up. Go across the Zered Valley." So we went across it.

14 Between the time we left Kadesh Barnea and the time we went across the Zered Valley, 38 years passed. By then, all of the fighting men who had been in our camp from the beginning had died. The LORD had warned them with an oath that it would happen.

15 He used his power against them until he had gotten rid of all of them. Not one was left in the camp.

16 Finally, the last of the fighting men among the people died.

17 Then the LORD spoke to me. He said,

18 "Today you must pass near the border of Moab. Moab is also called Ar.

19 "When you come to the Ammonites, do not attack them. Do not make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any of their land as your own. I have given it to the people in the family line of Lot. I have given it to them as their own."

20 That land was also thought of as a land of the Rephaites. They used to live there. But the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.

21 The Rephaites were strong people. There were large numbers of them. They were as tall as the Anakites. The LORD destroyed the Rephaites to make room for the Ammonites. So the Ammonites drove them out. Then they settled in the territory of the Rephaites.

22 The LORD had done the same thing for the people of Esau. They lived in Seir. He destroyed the Horites to make room for them. They drove the Horites out. So the people of Esau have lived in Seir in the territory of the Horites to this very day.

23 The Avvites lived in villages as far away as Gaza. But people came from Crete. They destroyed the Avvites. Then they settled in the territory of the Avvites.

24 The LORD said, "Start out and go across the valley of the Arnon River. I have handed Sihon over to you. He is the Amorite king of Heshbon. I have also given you his country. Begin to take it as your own. Go to war against him.

25 "This very day I will bring fear and terror on all of the nations because of you. They will hear about you. They will tremble with fear. Pain and suffering will take hold of them because of you."

26 I sent messengers from the Desert of Kedemoth. I told them to go to Sihon, the king of Heshbon. They offered him peace. They said,

27 "Let us pass through your country. We'll stay on the main road. We won't turn off it to one side or the other.

28 We'll pay you the right amount of silver for food to eat and water to drink. Just let us walk through your country.

29 The people of Esau, who live in Seir, allowed us to do that. The people of Moab, who live in Ar, also allowed us to do it. So let us walk through until we go across the Jordan River. Then we'll be able to go into the land the LORD our God is giving us."

30 But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, refused to let us walk through. The LORD your God had made his heart and spirit stubborn. The LORD wanted to hand him over to you. And that's exactly what he has done.

31 The LORD said to me, "I have begun to hand Sihon and his country over to you. So begin the battle to take his land as your own."

32 Sihon and his whole army came out to fight against us at Jahaz.

33 But the LORD our God handed him over to us. We struck him down together with his sons and his whole army.

34 At that time we took all of his towns. We completely destroyed them. We killed all of the men, women and children. We didn't leave any of them alive.

35 But we took for ourselves the livestock and everything else from the towns we had captured.

36 Not a single town was too strong for us. That includes all of the towns from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River valley all the way to Gilead. It also includes the town in the valley. The LORD our God gave us all of them.

37 And you obeyed the LORD's command. You didn't go near any part of the land of the Ammonites. That includes the land along the Jabbok River. It also includes the land around the towns that are in the hills.