Deuteronomy 1:19-46
Contemporary English Version
Men Were Sent To Explore the Hill Country
(Numbers 13.1-33)
Moses said to Israel:
19 The Lord had commanded us to leave Mount Sinai[a] and go to the hill country that belonged to the Amorites, so we started out into the huge desert. You remember how frightening it was, but soon we were at Kadesh-Barnea, 20-21 and I told you, “We have reached the hill country. It belongs to the Amorites now, but the Lord our God is giving it to us. He is the same God our ancestors worshiped, and he has told us to go in and take this land, so don't hesitate and be afraid.”
22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Before we go into the land, let's send some men to explore it. When they come back, they can tell us about the towns we will find and what roads we should take to get there.”
23 It seemed like a good idea, so I chose twelve men, one from each tribe. 24 They explored the hill country as far as Bunch Valley[b] 25 and even brought back some of the fruit. They said, “The Lord our God is giving us good land.”
Israel Refused To Obey the Lord
(Numbers 14.1-45)
Moses said to Israel:
26 (A) You did not want to go into the land, and you refused to obey the Lord your God. 27 You stayed in your tents and grumbled, “The Lord must hate us—he brought us out of Egypt, just so he could hand us over to the Amorites and get rid of us. 28 We are afraid, because the men who explored the land told us that the cities are large, with walls that reach to the sky. The people who live there are taller and stronger than we are,[c] and some of them are Anakim.[d] We have nowhere to go.”
29 Then I said, “Don't worry! 30 The Lord our God will lead the way. He will fight on our side, just as he did when we saw him do all those things to the Egyptians. 31 (B) And you know that the Lord has taken care of us the whole time we've been in the desert, just as you might carry one of your children.”
32 (C) But you still would not trust the Lord, 33 even though he had always been with us in the desert. During the daytime, the Lord was in the cloud, leading us in the right direction and showing us where to camp. And at night, he was there in the fire.[e]
34 (D) You had made the Lord angry, and he said:
35 You people of this generation are evil, and I refuse to let you go into the good land that I promised your ancestors. 36 Caleb son of Jephunneh is the only one of your generation that I will allow to go in. He obeyed me completely, so I will give him and his descendants the land he explored.
37 The Lord was even angry with me because of you people, and he said, “Moses, I won't let you go into the land either. 38 Instead, I will let Joshua[f] your assistant lead Israel to conquer the land. So encourage him.”
39 Then the Lord spoke to you again:
People of Israel, you said that your innocent young children would be taken prisoner in the battle for the land. But someday I will let them go into the land, and with my help they will conquer it and live there.
40 Now, turn around and go back into the desert by way of Red Sea[g] Road.
41 Then you told me, “We disobeyed the Lord our God, but now we want to obey him. We will go into the hill country and fight, just as he told us to do.” So you picked up your weapons, thinking it would be easy to take over the hill country.
42 But the Lord said, “Moses, warn them not to go into the hill country. I won't help them fight, and their enemies will defeat them.”
43 I told you what the Lord had said, but you paid no attention. You disobeyed him and went into the hill country anyway. You thought you were so great! 44 But when the Amorites in the hill country attacked from their towns, you ran from them as you would run from a swarm of bees. The Amorites chased your troops into Seir[h] as far as Hormah, killing them as they went. 45 Then you came back to the place of worship at Kadesh-Barnea and wept, but the Lord would not listen to your prayers.
Israel Spent Years in the Desert
Moses said to Israel:
46 After we had been in Kadesh for a few months, we obeyed the Lord and headed back into the desert by way of Red Sea[i] Road.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1.19 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
- 1.24 Bunch Valley: Or “Eshcol Valley,” famous for its large bunches of grapes.
- 1.28 The people … we are: Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation “the people who live there are stronger than we are, and there are more of them than there are of us.”
- 1.28 Anakim: Perhaps a group of very tall people that lived in or near Palestine before the Israelites. See also 2.10,11, 20,21; Numbers 13.33.
- 1.33 the cloud … the fire: See Exodus 40.34-38; Numbers 9.15-23.
- 1.38 Joshua: Hebrew “Joshua son of Nun.”
- 1.40 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Aqaba, since the term is extended to include the northeastern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at 11.4).
- 1.44 Seir: An area of hills and mountains that was part of the territory of Edom.
- 1.46 Red Sea: See the notes at 1.40; 11.4.
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