| New Living Translation | New International Version |
| 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 are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan--that is, in the Arabah--opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. |
| 2Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. | 2(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 4This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. |
| 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 | 5East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound 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 said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. |
| 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. | 7Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the 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 | 8See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the LORD swore he would give to your fathers--to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--and to their descendants after them." |
| 9Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself. | 9At that time I said to you, "You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. |
| 10The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars! | 10The LORD your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. |
| 11And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised! | 11May the LORD, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! |
| 12But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering? | 12But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? |
| 13Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’ | 13Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you." |
| 14“Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’ | 14You answered me, "What you propose to do is good." |
| 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 leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you--as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials. |
| 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, "Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. |
| 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.’ | 17Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it." |
| 18“At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do. Scouts Explore the Land | 18And at that time I told you everything you were to 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, | 19Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. |
| 20I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us. | 20Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving 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!’ | 21See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not 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.’ | 22Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to." |
| 23“This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. | 23The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. |
| 24They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. | 24They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol and explored it. |
| 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 | 25Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, "It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us." |
| 26“But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. | 26But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command 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. | 27You grumbled in your tents and said, "The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands 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!”’ | 28Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.'" |
| 29“But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! | 29Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not 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, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very 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. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." |
| 32“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God, | 32In spite of this, you did not trust in 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 ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. |
| 34“When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore, | 34When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: |
| 35‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, | 35"No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, |
| 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.’ | 36except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly." |
| 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! | 37Because of you the LORD became angry with me also and said, "You shall not enter it, either. |
| 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 your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead 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. | 39And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad--they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. |
| 40As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. ’ | 40But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to 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 you replied, "We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God commanded us." So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country. |
| 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.’ | 42But the LORD said to me, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by 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 told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the LORD's command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. |
| 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. | 44The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. |
| 45Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen. | 45You came back and wept before the LORD, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you. |
| 46So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time. | 46And so you stayed in Kadesh many days--all the time you spent 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. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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