Chapter 1
1 THESE ARE the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel
beyond the Jordan; in the wilderness, in the Arabah, over against Suph, between
Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.
2 It is eleven days journey from Horeb unto Kadesh-barnea by
the way of mount Seir.
3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh
month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke unto the children of
Israel, according unto all that HaShem had given him in commandment unto them;
4 after he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who
dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei;
5 beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, took Moses upon him
to expound this law, saying:
6 HaShem our G-d spoke unto us in Horeb, saying: 'Ye have
dwelt long enough in this mountain;
7 turn you, and take your journey, and go to the hill-country
of the Amorites and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the Arabah, in the
hill-country, and in the Lowland, and in the South, and by the sea-shore; the
land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river
Euphrates.
8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess
the land which HaShem swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.'
9 And I spoke unto you at that time, saying: 'I am not able
to bear you myself alone;
10 HaShem your G-d hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are
this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.--
11 HaShem, the G-d of your fathers, make you a thousand times
so many more as ye are, and bless you, as He hath promised you!--
12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your
burden, and your strife?
13 Get you, from each one of your tribes, wise men, and
understanding, and full of knowledge, and I will make them heads over you.'
14 And ye answered me, and said: 'The thing which thou hast
spoken is good for us to do.'
15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of
knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of
hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, tribe by
tribe.
16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying: 'Hear the
causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his
brother, and the stranger that is with him.
17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear
the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man;
for the judgment is G-d's; and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring
unto me, and I will hear it.'
18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye
should do.
19 And we journeyed from Horeb, and went through all that
great and dreadful wilderness which ye saw, by the way to the hill-country of
the Amorites, as HaShem our G-d commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20 And I said unto you: 'Ye are come unto the hill-country of
the Amorites, which HaShem our G-d giveth unto us.
21 Behold, HaShem thy G-d hath set the land before thee; go
up, take possession, as HaShem, the G-d of thy fathers, hath spoken unto thee;
fear not, neither be dismayed.'
22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said: 'Let
us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us back
word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities unto which we shall
come.'
23 And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of
you, one man for every tribe;
24 and they turned and went up into the mountains, and came
unto the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and
brought it down unto us, and brought us back word, and said: 'Good is the land
which HaShem our G-d giveth unto us.'
26 Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the
commandment of HaShem your G-d;
27 and ye murmured in your tents, and said: 'Because HaShem
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.
28 Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart
to melt, saying: The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great
and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim
there.'
29 Then I said unto you: 'Dread not, neither be afraid of
them.
30 HaShem your G-d who goeth before you, He shall fight for
you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
31 and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that
HaShem thy G-d bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye
went, until ye came unto this place.
32 Yet in this thing ye do not believe HaShem your G-d,
33 Who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to
pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and
in the cloud by day.'
34 And HaShem heard the voice of your words, and was wroth,
and swore, saying:
35 'Surely there shall not one of these men, even this evil
generation, see the good land, which I swore to give unto 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 HaShem.'
37 Also HaShem was angry with me for your sakes, saying: Thou
also shalt not go in thither;
38 Joshua the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall
go in thither; encourage thou him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
39 Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey,
and your children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall
go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the
wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.'
41 Then ye answered and said unto me: 'We have sinned against
HaShem, we will go up and fight, according to all that HaShem our G-d commanded
us.' And ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and deemed it a light thing
to go up into the hill-country.
42 And HaShem said unto me: 'Say unto them: Go not up,
neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.'
43 So I spoke unto you, and ye hearkened not; but ye rebelled
against the commandment of HaShem, and were presumptuous, and went up into the
hill-country.
44 And the Amorites, that dwell in that hill-country, came
out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even
unto Hormah.
45 And ye returned and wept before HaShem; but HaShem
hearkened not to your voice, nor gave ear unto you.
46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days
that ye abode there.
Sources: Portions copyright © 1997 by Benyamin Pilant, All Rights Reserved
JPS Electronic Edition, based on the 1917 JPS translation, Copyright © 1998 by Larry Nelson, All Rights Reserved
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