| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. | 1These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other. |
| 2It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir. | 2Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. |
| 3In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them. | 3But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say. |
| 4This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and then at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. | 4This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth. |
| 5On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying: | 5While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD’s instructions as follows. The Command to Leave Sinai |
| 6The LORD our God said to us at Horeb: “You have stayed at this mountain long enough. | 6“When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. |
| 7Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the foothills, in the Negev, and along the seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates. | 7It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. |
| 8See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.” | 8Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’” Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe |
| 9At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry the burden for you alone. | 9Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself. |
| 10The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. | 10The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars! |
| 11May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He has promised. | 11And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised! |
| 12But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself? | 12But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering? |
| 13Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.” | 13Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’ |
| 14And you answered me and said, “What you propose to do is good.” | 14“Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’ |
| 15So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes. | 15So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten. |
| 16At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. | 16“At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions |
| 17Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.” | 17and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’ |
| 18And at that time I commanded you all the things you were to do. | 18“At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do. Scouts Explore the Land |
| 19And just as the LORD our God had commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites, through all the vast and terrifying wilderness you have seen. When we reached Kadesh-barnea, | 19“Then, just as the LORD our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea, |
| 20I said: “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. | 20I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us. |
| 21See, the LORD your God has placed the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” | 21Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’ |
| 22Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us to search out the land and bring us word of what route to follow and which cities to enter.” | 22“But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’ |
| 23The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. | 23“This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. |
| 24They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied out the land. | 24They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. |
| 25They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us word: “It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.” | 25They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the LORD our God has given us is indeed a good land.’ Israel’s Rebellion against the LORD |
| 26But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. | 26“But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. |
| 27You grumbled in your tents and said, “Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be annihilated. | 27You complained in your tents and said, ‘The LORD must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. |
| 28Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’ ” | 28Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’ |
| 29So I said to you: “Do not be terrified or afraid of them! | 29“But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! |
| 30The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt | 30The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. |
| 31and in the wilderness, where the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place.” | 31And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’ |
| 32But in spite of all this, you did not trust the LORD your God, | 32“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God, |
| 33who went before you on the journey, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, to seek out a place for you to camp and to show you the road to travel. | 33who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. |
| 34When the LORD heard your words, He grew angry and swore an oath, saying, | 34“When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore, |
| 35“Not one of the men of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your fathers, | 35‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, |
| 36except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.” | 36except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the LORD completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’ |
| 37The LORD was also angry with me on your account, and He said, “Not even you shall enter the land. | 37“And the LORD was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land! |
| 38Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit the land. | 38Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it. |
| 39And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it. | 39I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it. |
| 40But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.” | 40As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. ’ |
| 41“We have sinned against the LORD,” you replied. “We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God has commanded us.” Then each of you put on his weapons of war, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country. | 41“Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the LORD! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the LORD our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country. |
| 42But the LORD said to me, “Tell them not to go up and fight, for I am not with you to keep you from defeat by your enemies.” | 42“But the LORD told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’ |
| 43So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country. | 43“This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the LORD’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight. |
| 44Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah. | 44But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah. |
| 45And you returned and wept before the LORD, but He would not listen to your voice or give ear to you. | 45Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen. |
| 46For this reason you stayed in Kadesh for a long time—a very long time. | 46So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time. |
|
