The Command to Leave Sinai

1These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side Jordan in the desert towards the west near the Red Sea, between Pharan Tophol, and Lobon, and Aulon, and the gold works. 2It is a journey of eleven days from Choreb to mount Seir as far as Cades Barne. 3And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to all the children of Israel, according to all things which the Lord commanded him for them: 4after he had smitten Seon king of the Amorites who dwelt in Esebon, and Og the king of Basan who dwelt in Astaroth and in Edrain; 5beyond Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying,

6The Lord your God spoke to us in Choreb, saying, Let it suffice you to have dwelt so long in this mountain. 7Turn ye and depart and enter into the mountain of the Amorites, and go to all that dwell near about Araba, to the mountain and the plain and to the south, and the land of the Chananites near the sea, and Antilibanus, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8Behold, God has delivered the land before you; go in and inherit the land, which I sware to your fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to them and to their seed after them.

Moses Appoints Leaders

9And I spoke to you at that time, saying, I shall not be able by myself to bear you. 10The Lord your God has multiplied you, and, behold, ye are to-day as the stars of heaven for multitude. 11The Lord God of your fathers add to you a thousand-fold more than you are, and bless you as he has spoken to you. 12How shall I alone be able to bear your labour, and your burden, and your gainsayings? 13Take to yourselves wise and understanding and prudent men for your tribes, and I will set your leaders over you. 14And ye answered me and said, The thing which thou hast told us is good to do. 15So I took of you wise and understanding and prudent men, and I set them to rule over you as rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and officers to your judges.

16And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear causes between your brethren, and judge rightly between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. 17Thou shalt not have respect to persons in judgment, thou shalt judge small and great equally; thou shalt not shrink from before the person of a man, for the judgment is God's; and whatsoever matter shall be too hard for you, ye shall bring it to me, and I will hear it. 18And I charged upon you at that time all the commands which ye shall perform.

Twelve Spies Sent Out

19And we departed from Choreb, and went through all that great wilderness and terrible, which ye saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorite, as the Lord our God charged us, and we came as far as Cades Barne. 20And I said to you, Ye have come as far as the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God gives to you: 21behold, the Lord your God has delivered to us the land before you: go up and inherit it as the Lord God of your fathers said to you; fear not, neither be afraid.

22And ye all came to me, and said, Let us send men before us, and let them go up to the land for us; and let them bring back to us a report of the way by which we shall go up, and of the cities into which we shall enter. 23And the saying pleased me: and I took of you twelve men, one man of a tribe. 24And they turned and went up to the mountain, and they came as far as the valley of the cluster, and surveyed it. 25And they took in their hands of the fruit of the land, and brought it to you, and said, The land is good which the Lord our God gives us.

Israel's Rebellion

26Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the words of the Lord our God. 27And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28Whither do we go up? and your brethren drew away your heart, saying, It is a great nation and populous, and mightier than we; and there are cities great and walled up to heaven: moreover we saw there the sons of the giants. 29And I said to you, Fear not, neither be ye afraid of them; 30the Lord your God who goes before your face, he shall fight against them together with you effectually, according to all that he wrought for you in the land of Egypt; 31and in this wilderness which ye saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorite; how the Lord thy God will bear thee as a nursling, as if any man should nurse his child, through all the way which ye have gone until ye came to this place. 32And in this matter ye believed not the Lord our God, 33who goes before you in the way to choose you a place, guiding you in fire by night, shewing you the way by which ye go, and a cloud by day.

Israel's Penalty

34And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and being greatly provoked he sware, saying, 35Not one of these men shall see this good land, which I sware to their fathers, 36except Chaleb the son of Jephonne, he shall see it; and to him I will give the land on which he went up, and to his sons, because he attended to the things of the Lord. 37And the Lord was angry with me for your sake, saying, Neither shalt thou by any means enter therein. 38Joshua the son of Naue, who stands by thee, he shall enter in there; do thou strengthen him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39And every young child who this day knows not good or evil, —they shall enter therein, and to them I will give it, and they shall inherit it. 40And ye turned and marched into the wilderness, in the way by the Red Sea.

The Defeat at Hormah

41And ye answered and said, We have sinned before the Lord our God; we will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God has commanded us: and having taken every one his weapons of war, and being gathered together, ye went up to the mountain. 42And the Lord said to me, Tell them, Ye shall not go up, neither shall ye fight, for I am not with you; thus shall ye not be destroyed before your enemies. 43And I spoke to you, and ye did not hearken to me; and ye transgressed the commandment of the Lord; and ye forced your way and went up into the mountain. 44And the Amorite who dwelt in that mountain came out to meet you, and pursued you as bees do, and wounded you from Seir to Herma. 45And ye sat down and wept before the Lord our God, and the Lord hearkened not to your voice, neither did he take heed to you. 46And ye dwelt in Cades many days, as many days as ye dwelt there.