Common English Bible CEB
English Standard Version ESV
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan River, in the desert, on the plain across from Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. (
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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.
2 It is eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea along the Mount Seir route.)
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It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.
3 It was in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses spoke to the Israelites precisely what the LORD had commanded him for them. (
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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 This was after the defeat of Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and Og, Bashan's king, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei.)
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after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei.
5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this Instruction. He said the following:
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Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying,
6 At Horeb, the LORD our God told us: You've been at this mountain long enough.
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“The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
7 Get going! Enter the hills of the Amorites and the surrounding areas in the desert, the highlands, the lowlands, the arid southern region, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites—and the Lebanon range, all the way to the great Euphrates River.
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Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
8 Look, I have laid the land before you. Go and possess the land that I promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as to their descendants after them.
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See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them. ’
9 At that same time, I told you: I can't handle all of you by myself.
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“At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself.
10 The LORD your God has multiplied your number—you are now as countless as the stars in the sky.
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The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven.
11 May the LORD, your ancestors' God, continue to multiply you—a thousand times more! And may God bless you, just as he promised.
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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!
12 But how can I handle all your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?
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How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife?
13 Now, for each of your tribes, choose wise, discerning, and well-regarded individuals. I will appoint them as your leaders.
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Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads. ’
14 You answered me: "What you have proposed is a good idea."
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And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do. ’
15 So I took leading individuals from your tribes, people who were wise and well-regarded, and I set them up as your leaders. There were commanders over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, as well as officials for each of your tribes.
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So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, 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 At that same time, I commanded your judges: Listen to your fellow tribe members and judge fairly, whether the dispute is between one fellow tribe member or between a tribe member and an immigrant.
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And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him.
17 Don't show favoritism in a decision. Hear both sides out, whether the person is important or not. Don't be afraid of anyone because the ruling belongs to God. Any dispute that is too difficult for you to decide, bring to me and I will take care of it.
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You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it. ’
18 So at that time, I commanded you concerning everything you were to do.
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And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.
19 We left Horeb and journeyed through that vast and terrifying desert you saw, on the way to the hills of the Amorites, exactly as the LORD our God commanded us. Then we arrived at Kadesh-barnea.
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“Then we set out from Horeb and 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 we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20 I said to you: You have come to the hills of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving to us.
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And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
21 Look! The LORD your God has laid out the land before you. Go up and take it, just as the LORD, your ancestors' God, has promised you. Don't be afraid! Don't be frightened!
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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. Do not fear or be dismayed. ’
22 Then all of you approached me, saying, "Let's send spies ahead of us—they can check out the land for us. Then they can return with word about the route we should use and bring a report about the cities that we'll be entering."
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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 This idea seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men, one from each tribe.
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The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe.
24 These set out and went up into the hills, going as far as the Cluster ravine. They walked all around that area.
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And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out.
25 They took some of the land's fruit and then came back down to us. They reported to us: "The land that the LORD our God is giving to us is wonderful!"
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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 But you weren't willing to go up. You rejected the LORD your God's instruction.
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“Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
27 You complained in your tents, saying things like, "The LORD hates us! That's why he brought us out of Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us!
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And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
28 What are we doing? Our brothers have made our hearts sick by saying, ‘People far stronger and much taller than we live there, and the cities are huge, with walls sky-high! Worse still, we saw the descendants of the Anakites there!'"
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Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there. ”’
29 But I said to you: Don't be terrified! Don't be afraid of them!
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Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them.
30 The LORD your God is going before you. He will fight for you just as he fought for you in Egypt while you watched,
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The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
31 and as you saw him do in the desert. Throughout your entire journey, until you reached this very place, the LORD your God has carried you just as a parent carries a child.
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and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place. ’
32 But you had no faith in the LORD your God about this matter,
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Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God,
33 even though he went ahead of you, scouting places where you should camp, in fire by night, so you could see the road you were taking, and in cloud during the daytime.
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who went before you in the way 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.
34 The LORD heard what you said. He was angry and he swore:
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“And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore,
35 Not even one of these people—this wicked generation!—will see the wonderful land that I promised to give to your ancestors.
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‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers,
36 The only exception is Caleb, Jephunneh's son. He will see it. I will give the land he walked on to him and his children for this reason: he was completely devoted to the LORD.
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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 (The LORD was even angry with me because of what you did. "You won't enter the land either," God said.
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Even with me the Lord was angry on your account and said, ‘You also shall not go in there.
38 "But Nun's son Joshua, your assistant, will enter it. Strengthen him because he's the one who will help Israel inherit the land.")
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Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
39 Now as for your toddlers, those you said would be taken in war, and your young children who don't yet know right and wrong—they will enter the land. I will give it to them. They will possess it!
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And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today 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 you all must now turn around. Head back toward the wilderness along the route of the Reed Sea.
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But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea. ’
41 You replied to me: "We've sinned against the LORD! We will go up! We will fight, just as the LORD our God commanded." Each one of you grabbed your weapons. You thought it would be easy to go up into the hills.
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“Then you answered me, ‘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 But the LORD told me: Tell them: Don't go up! Don't fight because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.
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And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies. ’
43 I reported this to you but you wouldn't listen. You disobeyed the LORD's instruction. Hotheadedly, you went up into the hills.
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So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
44 And the Amorites who lived in those hills came out to meet you in battle. They chased you like bees give chase! They gave you a beating from Seir all the way to Hormah.
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Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah.
45 When you came back, you cried before the LORD, but he wouldn't respond to your tears or give you a hearing.
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And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you.
46 And so you stayed in Kadesh-barnea for quite some time.
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So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025