Deuteronomy 1:4-1953 kjv — After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at As…

“This took place after the defeat of King Sihon of the Amorites, whose capital was in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was in Ashtaroth, specifically in Edrei. So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words: Events at Horeb The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb and said,“You have stayed in the area of this mountain long enough. Head out and resume your journey. Enter the Amorite hill country, and into all its neighboring areas, including the rift valley, the hill country, the foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain– all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates. Look! I have already given the land to you. Go, occupy the territory that I, the LORD, promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.” I also said to you at that time,“I am no longer able to sustain you by myself. The LORD your God has increased your population to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. Indeed, may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you just as he said he would! But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife? Select wise and practical men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. So I chose as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one person and a native Israelite or a resident foreigner. They must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing. Instructions at Kadesh Barnea So I instructed you at that time regarding everything you should do. Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the LORD our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea. Then I said to you,“You have come to the Amorite hill country which the LORD our God is about to give us. Look, he has placed the land in front of you! Go up, take possession of it, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!” So all of you approached me and said,“Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.” I thought this was a good idea, so I sent twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. They left and went up to the hill country, coming to the Eshcol Valley, which they scouted out. Then they took some of the produce of the land and carried it back down to us. They also brought a report to us, saying,“The land that the LORD our God is about to give us is good.” Disobedience at Kadesh Barnea You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the LORD your God. You complained among yourselves privately and said,“Because the LORD hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us! What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage by describing people who are more numerous and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven itself! Moreover, they said they saw Anakites there.” So I responded to you,“Do not be terrified of them! The LORD your God is about to go ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt and in the wilderness, where you saw him carrying you along like a man carries his son. This he did everywhere you went until you came to this very place.” However, through all this you did not have confidence in the LORD your God, the one who would go before you on the way to find places for you to camp, appearing in a fire at night and in a cloud by day to show you the way you ought to go. Judgment at Kadesh Barnea When the LORD heard you, he became angry and made this vow: “Not a single person of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors! The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh; he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me.” As for me, the LORD was also angry with me on your account. He said,“You also will not be able to go there. However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land. Also, your infants, who you thought would die on the way, and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad, will go there; I will give them the land and they will possess it. But as for you, turn back and head for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” Unsuccessful Conquest of Canaan Then you responded to me and admitted,“We have sinned against the LORD. We will now go up and fight as the LORD our God has told us to do.” So you each put on your battle gear and prepared to go up to the hill country. But the LORD told me:“Tell them this:‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you and you will be defeated by your enemies.’” I spoke to you, but you did not listen. Instead you rebelled against the LORD and recklessly went up to the hill country. The Amorite inhabitants of that area confronted you and chased you like a swarm of bees, striking you down from Seir as far as Hormah. Then you came back and wept before the LORD, but he paid no attention to you whatsoever. Therefore, you remained at Kadesh for a long time– indeed, for the full time.”

“After he had overcome Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, ruling in Ashtaroth, at Edrei: On the far side of Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses gave the people this law, saying, The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have been long enough in this mountain: Make a move now, and go on your way into the hill-country of the Amorites and the places near it, in the Arabah and the hill-country and in the lowlands and in the South and by the seaside, all the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, all the land is before you: go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them. At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself; The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said! How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments? Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes. And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him. In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing. And at that time I gave you all the orders which you were to do. Then we went on from Horeb, through all that great and cruel waste which you saw, on our way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the Lord gave us orders; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. And I said to you, You have come to the hill-country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. See now, the Lord your God has put the land into your hands: go up and take it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you; have no fear and do not be troubled. And you came near to me, every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us to go through the land with care and give us an account of the way we are to go and the towns to which we will come. And what you said seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from among you, one from every tribe; And they went up into the hill-country and came to the valley of Eshcol, and saw what was there. And taking in their hands some of the fruit of the land, they came down again to us, and gave us their account, saying, It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us. But going against the order of the Lord your God, you would not go up: And you made an angry outcry in your tents, and said, In his hate for us the Lord has taken us out of the land of Egypt, to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction. Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts feeble with fear by saying, The people are greater and taller than we are, and the towns are great and walled up to heaven; and more than this, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there. Then I said to you, Have no fear of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will be fighting for you, and will do such wonders as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the waste land, where you have seen how the Lord was supporting you, as a man does his son, in all your journeying till you came to this place. But for all this, you had no faith in the Lord your God, Who goes before you on your way, looking for a place where you may put up your tents, in fire by night, lighting up the way you are to go, and in a cloud by day. And the Lord, hearing your words, was angry, and said with an oath, Truly, not one of this evil generation will see that good land which I said I would give to your fathers, But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart. And, in addition, the Lord was angry with me because of you, saying, You yourself will not go into it: Joshua, the son of Nun, your servant, he will go into the land: say to him that he is to be strong, for he will be Israel's guide into their heritage. And your little ones, who, you said, would come into strange hands, your children, who now have no knowledge of good or evil, they will go into that land, and to them I will give it and it will be theirs. But as for you, go back, journeying into the waste land by the way of the Red Sea. Then you said to me, We have done evil against the Lord, we will go up to the attack, as the Lord our God has given us orders. And arming yourselves every one, you made ready to go up without care into the hill-country. And the Lord said to me, Say to them, Do not go up to the attack; for I am not among you, and you will be overcome by those who are against you. This I said to you, but you gave no attention and went against the orders of the Lord, and in your pride went up into the hill-country. And the Amorites who were in the hill-country came out against you and put you to flight, rushing after you like bees, and overcame you in Seir, driving you even as far as Hormah. And you came back, weeping before the Lord; but the Lord gave no attention to your cries and did not give ear to you. So you were kept waiting in Kadesh for a long time.”