Deuteronomy 1:5-29
New American Standard Bible
6The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
7Turn and set out on your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Negev, by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
8See, I have placed the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants after them.’
9And I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to endure you alone.
10The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number.
11May the Lord, the God of your fathers increase you a thousand times more than you are, and bless you, just as He has promised you!
12How can I alone endure the burden and weight of you and your strife?
13Obtain for yourselves men who are wise, discerning, and informed from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’
14And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’
15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and informed men, and appointed them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes.
16Then I ordered your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen and judge righteously between a person and his fellow countryman, or the stranger who is with him.
17You are not to show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You are not to be afraid of any person, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too difficult for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’
18At that time I commanded you all the things that you were to do.
19Then we set out from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness that you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is about to give us.
21See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’
22Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us, so that they may spy out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up, and the cities which we should enter.’
23The plan pleased me, and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.
24Then they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
25And they took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us. They also brought us back a report and said, ‘The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.’
26Yet you were unwilling to go up; instead you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;
27and you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us.
28Where can we go up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, by saying, 'The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there.'?’
29But I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, nor fear them.
King James Version
Chapter 1
5On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, 6The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: 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. 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. 9And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: 10The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. 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!) 12How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? 13Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. 14And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. 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. 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. 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. 18And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do. 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. 20And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. 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. 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. 23And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: 24And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. 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. 26Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God: 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. 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. 29Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.Christian Standard Bible
6"The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb: ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.
7Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Judean foothills, the Negev and the sea coast—to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates River.
8See, I have set the land before you. Enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their future descendants.’
9"I said to you at that time: I can’t bear the responsibility for you on my own.
10The Lord your God has so multiplied you that today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky.
11May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times more, and bless you as he promised you.
12But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?
13Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.
15"So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: commanders for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes.
16I commanded your judges at that time: Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or his resident alien.
17Do not show partiality when deciding a case; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.
18At that time I commanded you about all the things you were to do.
19"We then set out from Horeb and went across all the great and terrible wilderness you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,
20I said to you: You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
21See, 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 told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
22"Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us, so that they may explore the land for us and bring us back a report about the route we should go up and the cities we will come to.’
23The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one man for each tribe.
24They left and went up into the hill country and came to the Valley of Eshcol, scouting the land.
25They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a report: ‘The land the Lord our God is giving us is good.’
26"But you were not willing to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
27You grumbled in your tents and said, ‘The Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites in order to destroy us, because he hates us.
28Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart, saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’
New Living Translation
6When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.
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.
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.’'
9Moses continued, 'At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.
10The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!
11And may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!
12But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?
13Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’
14Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’
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.
16At 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
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.’
19Then, 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,
20I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that 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!’
23This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.
24They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol 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.’
26But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in.
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.
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!'’
English Standard Version
Chapter 1
5Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6"The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’
9"At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself.
10The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven.
11May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!
12How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife?
13Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’
14And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’
15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes.
16And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him.
17You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God 's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’
18And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.
19"Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
21See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’
22Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’
23The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe.
24And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out.
25And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’
26"Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
27And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
28Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there."’
29Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them.
New International Version
6The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
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.
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."
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 numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
11May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!
12But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?
13Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you."
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.
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.
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."
18And at that time I told you everything you were to do.
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.
20Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
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."
23The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.
24They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol and explored it.
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."
26But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
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 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.’ "
New King James Version
Chapter 1
5On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying, 6“The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. 7Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. 8See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them.’
9“And I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I alone am not able to bear you.
10The Lord your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.
11May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!
12How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints?
13Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.’
14And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’
15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.
16“Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him.
17You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’
18And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.
19“So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the Lord our God had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea.
20And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
21Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’
23“The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe.
24And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
25They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘ It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.’
26“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;
27and you complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
28Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ’