New Living Translation

King James Bible

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.

1These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

2Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.

2(There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.)

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.

3And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;

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.

4After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:

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

5On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

6“When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.

6The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:

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.

7Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

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

8Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

9Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.

9And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:

10The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!

10The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

11And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!

11(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)

12But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?

12How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

13Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’

13Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

14“Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’

14And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.

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.

15So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

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

16And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

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.’

17Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.

18“At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do. Scouts Explore the Land

18And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

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,

19And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.

20I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us.

20And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.

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!’

21Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

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.’

22And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.

23“This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.

23And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:

24They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it.

24And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.

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

25And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.

26“But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in.

26Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:

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.

27And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

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!”’

28Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

29“But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them!

29Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

30The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.

30The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

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.’

31And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

32“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God,

32Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

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.

33Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34“When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,

34And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

35‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,

35Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

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.’

36Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.

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!

37Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.

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.

38But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit 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.

39Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. ’

40But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

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.

41Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

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.’

42And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

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.

43So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

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.

44And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

45Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen.

45And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

46So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.

46So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.