Moses’ Opening Address

1 These are the words which Moses spoke with all Israel beyond the Jordan, rebuking them because they had sinned in the wilderness, and had provoked the Lord to anger on the plains opposite the Red Sea, in Paran, where they scorned the manna; and in Hazeroth, where they provoked to anger over meat, and because they had made the golden calf. 2 It is a journey of eleven days from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Petra-Geah. 3 And in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke with the sons of Israel according to all that the Lord had commanded him for them. 4 After he had defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived at Ashtaroth in Edrei; 5 on this side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain the teaching of this law, saying:

Leaving Horeb

6 The Lord our God spoke with us at Horeb, saying: You have stayed long enough at this mountain: 7 turn, and set out, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all its inhabited regions in the plains, the mountain, the valleys, and in the south, and by the side of the sea; the land of the Canaanites and Lebanon, to the river, the great river Euphrates; 8 look, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord promised to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it to them, and to your children after them.

Judges Appointed

9 And I spoke to you at that time, saying: I am not able to carry the responsibility for you alone. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you; and, look, you are today as the stars of the heavens in number. 11 May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more than you are, and bless you, as He has said to you! 12 How can I handle your burdens, your affairs, and your disputes alone? 13 Choose wise and discerning men of your tribes, and I will appoint them to be chiefs over you. 14 And you answered me, and said: What you have proposed is right for us to do. 15 And I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and knowledgeable men, and appointed them chiefs over you, captains of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and officers of your tribes. 16 And I instructed your judges at that time, saying: Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother, or the foreigner. 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear small matters as well as great ones; and do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to the Lord; and bring any matter too difficult for you to me, and I will hear it; 18 and I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

The Scouts and Israel’s Rebellion

19 And we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrifying desert which you saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us, and we came to Petra-Geah. 20 And I said: You have come to the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God will give to us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you: go up and take possession of it, as the Lord the God of your fathers has commanded you; do not be afraid or discouraged. 22 And all of you came to me and said: We will send men before us, to explore the land for us, and bring us word about the way to go up to it, and to what cities we shall come. 23 And the proposal seemed good to me, and I took from you twelve men, one man for a tribe. 24 And they turned and went up to the mountain, and came to the brook of Eshcol, and explored it. 25 And they took in their hands some of the produce of the land and brought it to us, and reported back to us, saying: The land which the Lord will give us is good. 26 But you were not willing to go up, but were rebellious against the Memra of the Lord your God, 27 and complained in your tents, and said: Because the Lord has hated us, He has brought us from the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where are we to go? Our brothers have discouraged us, saying: The people are greater and stronger than we are; the cities are vast, and walled to the height of heaven, and we saw there also the sons of the giants. 29 But I said to you: Do not be discouraged; do not fear them; 30 the Memra of the Lord, who goes before you, will fight for you,⁠a according to all that He did for you in Egypt in your sight; 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen that the Lord your God carries you, as a man carries his child, in all the way you have journeyed until you came to this place. 32 But in this thing you did not believe in the Memra of the Lord your God, 33 who went before you in the way to find each place for you to camp on your journeys, in the pillar of fire by night to show you in which way to go, and in the pillar of the cloud by day.

Judgment in the Wilderness

34 But the voice of your words was heard before the Lord, and He was angry, and swore, saying: 35 Not one man of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to your fathers, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and I will give to him the land on which he has walked, and to his children, because he has been faithful in reverence for the Lord. 37 The Lord was also displeased with me because of you, saying: You too are not to go in there; 38 Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, shall enter there; strengthen him, for he is to give Israel its inheritance; 39 but your little ones, who you said would be taken captive, your children, who today do not know good and evil, they shall enter it, I will give it to them, and they shall possess it; 40 but you, turn, and go into the wilderness by the Red Sea.

The Failed Attack

41 Then you answered, and said: We have sinned before the Lord; we will go up and wage war according to all that the Lord our God commanded; and each of you fastened on his weapons for battle, and began to go up to the mountain. 42 But the Lord said to me: Tell them, You shall not go up, neither wage war; for My Shekinah is not among you, or you will be crushed by your enemies. 43 And I told you, but you did not listen, but rebelled against the Memra of the Lord, and dared, and went up to the mountain; 44 but the Amorites who lived in that mountain came out against you, and pursued you as bees swarm, and struck you in Seir to Hormah. 45 And you returned, and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not receive your prayer, nor listen to your words; 46 and you stayed in Petra many days, for the time you remained there.