February 24

Deuteronomy 1:1 — 2:37

Deuteronomy

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the region of the Jordan in the wilderness, on the desert plains in front of Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab, 2 it being eleven days from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3 And it came about that in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses spoke to the sons of Israel according to all that Jehovah had commanded him for them, 4 after his defeating Sihon the king of the Amorites, who was dwelling in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who was dwelling in Ashtaroth, in Edrei. 5 In the region of the Jordan in the land of Moab Moses undertook to explain this law, saying:

6 “Jehovah our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘YOU have dwelt long enough in this mountainous region. 7 Turn and set out on YOUR way and go into the mountainous region of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, the mountainous region and the Shephelah and the Negeb and the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, up to the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I do put the land before YOU people. Go in and take possession of the land about which Jehovah swore to YOUR fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give it to them and their seed after them.’

9 “And I proceeded to say this to YOU at that particular time, ‘I am not able by myself to carry YOU. 10 Jehovah YOUR God has multiplied YOU, and here YOU are today like the stars of the heavens for multitude. 11 May Jehovah the God of YOUR forefathers increase YOU a thousand times as many as YOU are, and may he bless YOU just as he has promised YOU. 12 How can I carry by myself the burden of YOU and the load of YOU and YOUR quarreling? 13 Get wise and discreet and experienced men of YOUR tribes, that I may set them as heads over YOU.’ 14 At that YOU answered me and said, ‘The thing you have spoken for us to do is good.’ 15 So I took the heads of YOUR tribes, men wise and experienced, and put them as heads over YOU, chiefs of thousands and chiefs of hundreds and chiefs of fifties and chiefs of tens and officers of YOUR tribes.

16 “And I went on to command YOUR judges at that particular time, saying, ‘When having a hearing between YOUR brothers, YOU must judge with righteousness between a man and his brother or his alien resident. 17 YOU must not be partial in judgment. YOU should hear the little one the same as the great one. YOU must not become frightened because of a man, for the judgment belongs to God; and the case that is too hard for YOU, YOU should present to me, and I must hear it.’ 18 And I proceeded to command YOU at that particular time all the things that YOU should do.

19 “Then we pulled away from Horeb and went marching through all that great and fear-inspiring wilderness, which YOU have seen, by the way of the mountainous region of the Amorites, just as Jehovah our God had commanded us; and we eventually came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 I now said to YOU, ‘YOU have come to the mountainous region of the Amorites, which Jehovah our God is giving to us. 21 See, Jehovah your God has abandoned the land to you. Go up, take possession, just as Jehovah the God of your forefathers has spoken to you. Do not be afraid, nor be terrified.’

22 “However, all of YOU came near to me and said, ‘Do let us send men ahead of us that they may search out the land for us and bring us back word concerning the way by which we should go up and the cities to which we will come.’ 23 Well, the thing proved to be good in my eyes, so that I took twelve men of YOURS, one for each tribe. 24 Then they turned and went up into the mountainous region and got as far as the torrent valley of Eshcol and went spying on it. 25 And they proceeded to take some of the fruitage of the land in their hand and to bring it down to us, and they came bringing us back word and saying, ‘The land that Jehovah our God is giving us is good.’ 26 But YOU did not wish to go up, and YOU began to behave rebelliously against the order of Jehovah YOUR God. 27 And YOU kept grumbling in YOUR tents and saying, ‘It was because Jehovah hated us that he brought us out of the land of Egypt to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to annihilate us. 28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have caused our heart to melt, saying: “A people greater and taller than we are, cities great and fortified to the heavens and also the sons of the Anakim we saw there.”’

29 “So I said to YOU, ‘YOU must not suffer a shock or be afraid because of them. 30 Jehovah YOUR God is the one going before YOU. He will fight for YOU according to all that he did with YOU in Egypt under YOUR own eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you saw how Jehovah your God carried you just as a man carries his son, in all the way that YOU walked until YOUR coming to this place.’ 32 But despite this word YOU were not putting faith in Jehovah YOUR God, 33 who was going before YOU in the way to spy out for YOU a place for YOU to camp, by fire at night for YOU to see by what way YOU should walk and by a cloud in daytime.

34 “All the while Jehovah heard the voice of YOUR words. So he became indignant and swore, saying, 35 ‘Not one among these men of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to YOUR fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and to him and to his sons I shall give the land upon which he trod, by reason of the fact that he has followed Jehovah fully. 37 (Even against me Jehovah got incensed on YOUR account, saying, ‘You too will not go in there. 38 Joshua the son of Nun, who is standing before you, is the one who will go in there.’ Him he has made strong, because he will cause Israel to inherit it.) 39 As for YOUR little ones of whom YOU said: “Plunder they will become!” and YOUR sons who today do not know good or bad, these will go in there, and to them I shall give it, and they will take possession of it. 40 As for YOU yourselves, change your direction and pull away for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.’

41 “At this YOU answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against Jehovah. We—we shall go up and fight in accord with all that Jehovah our God has commanded us!’ So YOU girded on, each one, his weapons of war and regarded it as easy to go up into the mountain. 42 But Jehovah said to me, ‘Say to them: “YOU must not go up and fight, because I am not in YOUR midst; that YOU may not be defeated before YOUR enemies.”’ 43 So I spoke to YOU, and YOU did not listen but began to behave rebelliously against Jehovah’s order and to get all heated up, and you tried to go up into the mountain. 44 Then the Amorites who were dwelling in that mountain came out to meet YOU and went chasing YOU, just as bees do, and scattering YOU in Seir as far as Hormah. 45 After that YOU returned and began to weep before Jehovah, but Jehovah did not listen to YOUR voice, neither did he give ear to YOU. 46 So YOU kept dwelling in Kadesh many days, as many days as YOU did dwell there.


2 “Then we turned and pulled away for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, just as Jehovah had spoken to me; and we were many days in going around Mount Seir. 2 Finally Jehovah said this to me, 3 ‘YOU have gone around this mountain long enough. Change YOUR direction to the north. 4 And command the people, saying: “YOU are passing along by the border of YOUR brothers, the sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir; and they will be afraid because of YOU, and YOU must be very careful. 5 Do not engage in strife with them, because I shall not give YOU of their land so much as the width of the sole of the foot; because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a holding. 6 What food YOU may buy from them for money, YOU must eat; and also what water YOU may purchase from them for money, YOU must drink. 7 For Jehovah your God has blessed you in every deed of your hand. He well knows of your walking through this great wilderness. These forty years Jehovah your God has been with you. You have not lacked a thing.”’ 8 So we passed on away from our brothers, the sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir, from the way of the Arabah, from Elath and from Ezion-geber.

“Next we turned and passed on by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 Jehovah then said to me, ‘Do not molest Moab or engage in war with them, because I shall not give you any of his land as a holding, for to the sons of Lot I have given Ar as a holding. 10 (The Emim dwelt in it in former times, a people great and numerous and tall like the Anakim. 11 As for the Rephaim, they also were considered like the Anakim, and the Moabites used to call them Emim. 12 And the Horites dwelt in Seir in former times, and the sons of Esau proceeded to dispossess them and to annihilate them from before them and to dwell in their place, just the same as Israel must do to the land that is his holding, which Jehovah will certainly give to them.) 13 At this time rise and make YOUR way across the torrent valley of Zered.’ Accordingly we went crossing the torrent valley of Zered. 14 And the days that we walked from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the torrent valley of Zered were thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war had come to their end from the midst of the camp, just as Jehovah had sworn to them. 15 And the hand of Jehovah also proved to be upon them to disquiet them out of the midst of the camp, until they came to their end.

16 “And it came about that as soon as all the men of war had finished dying off from the midst of the people, 17 Jehovah spoke further to me, saying, 18 ‘You are passing today by the territory of Moab, that is, Ar, 19 and you must get close in front of the sons of Ammon. Do not molest them or engage in strife with them, because I shall not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a holding, for it is to the sons of Lot that I have given it as a holding. 20 As the land of the Rephaim it also used to be considered. (The Rephaim dwelt in it in former times, and the Ammonites used to call them Zamzummim. 21 They were a great and numerous and tall people like the Anakim; and Jehovah went annihilating them from before them, that they might dispossess them and dwell in their place; 22 just the same as he did for the sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir, when he annihilated the Horites from before them, that they might dispossess them and dwell in their place until this day. 23 As for the Avvim, who were dwelling in settlements as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came out from Caphtor, annihilated them, that they might dwell in their place.)

24 “‘GET up, pull away and cross the torrent valley of Arnon. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the king of Heshbon, the Amorite. So start to take possession of his land, and engage in war with him. 25 This day I shall start to put the dread of you and the fear of you before the peoples beneath all the heavens, who will hear the report about you; and they will indeed be agitated and have pains like those of childbirth because of you.’

26 “Then I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27 ‘Let me pass through your land. Only on the road I shall walk. I shall not turn to the right or to the left. 28 What food you will sell me for money, I must eat; and what water you will give me for money, I must drink. Only let me pass through on my feet, 29 just the same as the sons of Esau dwelling in Seir and the Moabites dwelling in Ar did to me, until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land that Jehovah our God is giving to us.’ 30 And Sihon the king of Heshbon did not let us pass through him, because Jehovah your God had let his spirit become obstinate and his heart become hard, in order to give him into your hand just as at this day.

31 “At this Jehovah said to me, ‘See, I have started to abandon Sihon and his land to you. Start to take possession of his land.’ 32 When Sihon came on out, he and all his people, to meet us in battle at Jahaz, 33 then Jehovah our God abandoned him to us, so that we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we went capturing all his cities at that particular time and devoting every city to destruction, men and women and little children. We left no survivor. 35 Only the domestic animals did we take as plunder for ourselves, together with the spoil of the cities that we had captured. 36 From Aroer, which is by the bank of the torrent valley of Arnon, and the city that is in the torrent valley, as far as Gilead, there proved to be no town that was too high up for us. Jehovah our God abandoned them all to us. 37 Only you did not go near the land of the sons of Ammon, the whole bank of the torrent valley of Jabbok, nor the cities of the mountainous region, nor anything about which Jehovah our God had given command.