Deuteronomy, 1

1. These [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.

1. These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel, at the other side of the Jordan River, in the Arabah desert. They were facing Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.

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

2. From Mount Horeb to Kadesh-Barnea they had had a journey of eleven days through the mountains of Seir.

3. And 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;

3. But now it was the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year after they left Egypt, when Moses told the children of Israel all that Yahweh had commanded him regarding them.

4. After 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:

4. After defeating Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan who ruled in Ashtaroth and in Edrei,

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

5. Moses began to explain this law. They were in the land of Moab, at the other side of the Jordan.

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

6. Moses said, "Yahweh, our God, spoke to us at Mount Horeb: 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

7. Turn 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.

7. Leave this place and go into the territory of the Amorites and to its neighboring peoples in the Arabah, the Mountains, the Lowlands, the Negeb and the seacoast, into the land of Canaan and Lebanon up to the great Euphrates River.

8. Behold, 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.

8. Look: I offer you this land; you will take possession of it and live in the land which Yahweh swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to all their descendants.'

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

9. I said to you at that time: 'I alone cannot be responsible for all of you.

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

10. Yahweh, your God, has multiplied you, and now, you are as numerous as the stars in heaven.

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!)

11. May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times more and bless you just as he promised.

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

12. But how can I alone resolve all your problems and disputes?

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

13. Look for intelligent, keen-sighted and experienced men from each of your tribes, and I will place them over the people.'

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

14. And you answered: 'What you ask us to do is right.'

15. So 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.

15. Thus, I chose from among the heads of your tribes wise and experienced men and placed them over you as leaders of the thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as secretaries for each tribe.

16. And 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.

16. And I gave this order to the judges: 'Attend to the complaints of your brothers, and judge with justice the lawsuit between an Israelite and his brother, or between an Israelite and a foreigner who lives in your midst.

17. Ye 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.

17. Do not be influenced by anyone when you judge, but listen to the poor and the rich alike, to the powerful as well as the weak, and do not be afraid of anyone because you act in place of God. And if there arises a very difficult case for you, refer this to me and I will attend to it.'

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

18. At that time, I established what you had to do.

19. And 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.

19. Finally, having left Horeb, we passed through that wide and terrible desert that we saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh had commanded us, and arriving at Kadesh-Barnea,

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

20. I said to you: 'We have come to the mountain of the Amorites which Yahweh, our God, gives us.

21. Behold, 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.

21. Look, Israel, at the land which Yahweh gives you; take possession of that which was promised to your fathers. Do not be afraid or discouraged.'

22. And 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.

22. Then all of you gathered around me and said to me: 'Better send some men before us to explore the land and map out the roads leading to the cities where we are to go.'

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

23. That was a good suggestion, so I took twelve men from among you, one from each tribe,

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

24. who set out and climbed the mountains on foot until they came to the Valley of the Grapevines.

25. And 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.

25. And once there, they took with them the fruits of the valley, and upon their return recounted to us what they had seen. They told us: 'The land which Yahweh gives us is a good land.'

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

26. Nevertheless, you did not want to go up into the mountains but rebelled against the commands of Yahweh.

27. And 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.

27. And you began to murmur in your tents: 'Yahweh does not like us; he made us leave Egypt to turn us over to the Amorites who in turn will kill us all.

28. Whither 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.

28. Where shall we go? The messengers have frightened us with what they told us: The people who live in the land are greater and taller than us. The cities are great and are fortified with high walls. We have seen giants there as in times past.'

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

29. Then I said to you: 'Have no fear and do not be afraid of them.

30. The 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;

30. Yahweh who leads you will likewise fight for you as he did in Egypt.

31. And 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.

31. You have also seen what he did in the desert where he carried you all the way just as a father carries his son, until we came to this place.'

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

32. But still you would not believe Yahweh, our God,

33. Who 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.

33. who went before you in all your journeys, and has instructed you where to set up camp; by night he has shown you the way with fire and by day with a cloud.

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

34. And when Yahweh heard the rumblings of your complaints, he was angry and he swore:

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

35. Not one from this perverse generation will see the beautiful land which I swore to give to your fathers

36. Save 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.

36. except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it and I will give him and his children the land upon which he trod because he has faithfully followed Yahweh.

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

37. Yahweh was angry with me as well because of your fault, and he said to me: 'Neither will you enter there;

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

38. but your assistant, Joshua, the son of Nun, will enter. Encourage him because he will be the one to give Israel its inheritance.

39. Moreover 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.

39. Your children will enter there; to them will I give the land, and they will possess it although you feared they would become the prey of your enemies.

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

40. But as for you, go back into the desert by the Red Sea.'

41. Then 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.

41. And you answered me: 'We have sinned against Yahweh, our God. Now, we will go and fight as he has commanded us.' So each one took his weapons and thought it easy to climb the mountains.

42. And 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.

42. But Yahweh told me: 'Tell them not to go and fight because I am not with them, or else they will be defeated by the enemy.'

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

43. I told you this but you did not listen. You disobeyed the order of Yahweh and went up to the mountains instead.

44. And 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.

44. Then the Amorites who live on those mountains came out to meet you; they struck you and pursued you like bees from Seir to Hormah.

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

45. And you returned with much weeping in the presence of Yahweh who did not want to hear you nor listen to your voice.

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

46. So you were to remain at Kadesh for many days; and you know how long it was.