Common English Bible CEB
The Message Bible MSG
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 sermons Moses preached to all Israel when they were east of the Jordan River in the Arabah Wilderness, opposite Suph, in the vicinity of Paran, 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 takes eleven days to travel from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea following the Mount Seir route.
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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It was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year when Moses addressed the People of Israel, telling them everything God had commanded him concerning 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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This came after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who ruled from Ashtaroth 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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It was east of the Jordan in the land of Moab that Moses set out to explain this Revelation. He said:
6 At Horeb, the LORD our God told us: You've been at this mountain long enough.
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Back at Horeb, God, our God, spoke to us: "You've 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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On your way now. Get moving. Head for the Amorite hills, wherever people are living in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negev, the seashore - the Canaanite country and the Lebanon all the way to the big river, the 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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Look, I've given you this land. Now go in and take it. It's the land God promised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their children after them."
9 At that same time, I told you: I can't handle all of you by myself.
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At the time I told you, "I can't do this, can't carry you all 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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God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you - you rival the stars in the sky!
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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And may God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised.
12 But how can I handle all your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?
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But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels?
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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So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders."
14 You answered me: "What you have proposed is a good idea."
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You answered me, "Good! A good solution."
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 went ahead and took the top men of your tribes, wise and seasoned, and made them your leaders - leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of 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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At the same time I gave orders to your judges: "Listen carefully to complaints and accusations between your fellow Israelites. Judge fairly between each person and his fellow or foreigner.
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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Don't play favorites; treat the little and the big alike; listen carefully to each. Don't be impressed by big names. This is God's judgment you're dealing with. Hard cases you can bring to me; I'll deal with them."
18 So at that time, I commanded you concerning everything you were to do.
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I issued orders to you at that time regarding everything you would have to deal with.
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 headed for the Amorite hill country, going through that huge and frightening wilderness that you've had more than an eyeful of by now - all under the command of God, our God - and finally arrived at 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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There I told you, "You've made it to the Amorite hill country that God, 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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Look, God, your God, has placed this land as a gift before you. Go ahead and take it now. God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, promised it to you. Don't be afraid. Don't lose heart."
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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But then you all came to me and said, "Let's send some men on ahead to scout out the land for us and bring back a report on the best route to take and the kinds of towns we can expect to find."
23 This idea seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men, one from each tribe.
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That seemed like a good idea to me, so I picked twelve men, one 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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They set out, climbing through the hills. They came to the Eshcol Valley and looked it over.
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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They took samples of the produce of the land and brought them back to us, saying, "It's a good land that God, 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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But then you weren't willing to go up. You rebelled against God, your God's plain word.
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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You complained in your tents: "God hates us. He hauled us out of Egypt in order to dump us among the Amorites - a death sentence for sure!
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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How can we go up? We're trapped in a dead end. Our brothers took all the wind out of our sails, telling us, 'The people are bigger and stronger than we are; their cities are huge, their defenses massive - we even saw Anakite giants there!'"
29 But I said to you: Don't be terrified! Don't be afraid of them!
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I tried to relieve your fears: "Don't be terrified 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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God, your God, is leading the way; he's fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt;
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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you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here.
32 But you had no faith in the LORD your God about this matter,
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But now that you're here, you won't trust God, 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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this same God who goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go."
34 The LORD heard what you said. He was angry and he swore:
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When God heard what you said, he exploded in anger. 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 a single person of this evil generation is going to get so much as a look at the good land that I promised to give to your parents. Not one -
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 for Caleb son of Jephunneh. He'll see it. I'll give him and his descendants the land he walked on because he was all for following God, heart and soul."
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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But I also got it. Because of you God's anger spilled over onto me. He said, "You aren't getting in either.
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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Your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will go in. Build up his courage. He's the one who will claim the inheritance for Israel.
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 your babies of whom you said, 'They'll be grabbed for plunder,' and all these little kids who right now don't even know right from wrong - they'll get in. I'll give it to them. Yes, they'll be the new owners.
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 not you. Turn around and head back into the wilderness following the route to 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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You spoke up, "We've sinned against God. We'll go up and fight, following all the orders that God, our God, has commanded." You took your weapons and dressed for battle - you thought it would be so easy going into those hills!
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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But God told me, "Tell them, 'Don't do it; don't go up to fight - I'm not with you in this. Your enemies will waste you.'"
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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I told you but you wouldn't listen. You rebelled at the plain word of God. You threw out your chests and strutted into the hills.
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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And those Amorites, who had lived in those hills all their lives, swarmed all over you like a hive of bees, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah, a stinging defeat.
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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You came back and wept in the presence of God, but he didn't pay a bit of attention to you; God didn't give you the time of day.
46 And so you stayed in Kadesh-barnea for quite some time.
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You stayed there in Kadesh a long time, about as long as you had stayed there earlier.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.