The Final Speeches of Moses
1-5 This book contains the speeches that Moses made while Israel was in the land of Moab, camped near the town of Suph in the desert east of the Jordan River. The town of Paran was in one direction from their camp, and the towns of Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab were in the opposite direction.
Earlier, Moses had defeated the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon. Moses had also defeated King Og of Bashan, who used to live in Ashtaroth for part of the year and in Edrei for the rest of the year.
Although it takes only eleven days to walk from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea by way of the Mount Seir Road, these speeches were not made until 40 years after Israel left Egypt.
The First Speech: Moses Reviews the Past
The Lord's Command at Mount Sinai
The Lord had given Moses his laws for the people of Israel. And on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses began explaining those laws by saying:
6 People of Israel, when we were in our camp at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God told us:
You have stayed here long enough. 7 Leave this place and go into the land that belongs to the Amorites and their neighbors the Canaanites. This land includes the Jordan River valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Southern Desert, the Mediterranean seacoast, the Lebanon Mountains, and all the territory as far as the Euphrates River. 8 I give you this land, just as I promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now you must go and take the land.
Leaders Were Appointed
(Exodus 18.13-27)Moses said:
9 Right after the Lord commanded us to leave Mount Sinai, I told you:
Israel, being your leader is too big a job for one person. 10 The Lord our God has blessed us, and so now there are as many of us as there are stars in the sky. 11 God has even promised to bless us a thousand times more, and I pray that he will. 12 But I cannot take care of all your problems and settle all your arguments alone. 13 Each tribe must choose some experienced men who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will make those men the official leaders of their tribes.
14 You answered, “That's a good idea!” 15 Then I took these men, who were already wise and respected leaders, and I appointed them as your official leaders. Some of them became military officers in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10, 16 and others became judges. I gave these judges the following instructions:
When you settle legal cases, your decisions must be fair. It doesn't matter if the case is between two Israelites, or between an Israelite and a foreigner living in your community. 17 And it doesn't matter if one is helpless and the other is powerful. Don't be afraid of anyone! No matter who shows up in your court, God will help you make a fair decision.
If any case is too hard for you, bring the people to me, and I will make the decision.
18 After I gave these instructions to the judges, I taught you the Lord's commands.
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 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 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 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, and some of them are Anakim. 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 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 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.
34 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 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 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 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 Road.
1 These bee the wordes which Moses spake vnto all Israel, on this side Iorden in the wildernesse, in the plaine, ouer against the red Sea, betweene Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. 2 There are eleuen dayes iourney from Horeb vnto Kadesh-barnea, by the way of mout Seir. 3 And it came to passe in the first day of the eleuenth moneth, in the fourtieth yeere that Moses spake vnto the children of Israel according vnto all that the Lord had giuen him in commandement vnto them, 4 After that he had slaine Sihon the king of the Amorites which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, which dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei. 5 On this side Iorden in the lande of Moab began Moses to declare this lawe, saying, 6 The Lord our God spake vnto vs in Horeb, saying, Ye haue dwelt long ynough in this mount, 7 Turne you and depart, and goe vnto the mountaine of the Amorites, and vnto all places neere thereunto in the plaine, in the mountaine, or in the valley: both Southwarde, and to the Sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and vnto Lebanon: euen vnto the great riuer, the riuer Perath. 8 Beholde, I haue set the land before you: go in and possesse that land which the Lord sware vnto your fathers, Abraham, Izhak, and Iaakob, to giue vnto them and to their seede after them. 9 And I spake vnto you the same time, saying, I am not able to beare you my selfe alone: 10 The Lord your God hath multiplied you: and beholde, ye are this day as the starres of heauen in nomber: 11 (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many moe as ye are, and blesse you, as he hath promised you) 12 Howe can I alone beare your combrance and your charge, and your strife? 13 Bring you men of wisedome and of vnderstanding, and knowen among your tribes, and I will make them rulers ouer you: 14 Then ye answered me and said, The thing is good that thou hast commanded vs to doe. 15 So I tooke the chiefe of your tribes wise and knowen men, and made them rulers ouer you, captaines ouer thousands, and captaines ouer hundreds, and captaines ouer fiftie, and captaines ouer tenne, and officers among your tribes. 16 And I charged your iudges that same time, saying, Heare the controuersies betweene your brethren, and iudge righteously betweene euery man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. 17 Ye shall haue no respect of person in iudgement, but shall heare the small aswell as the great: yee shall not feare the face of man: for the iudgement is Gods: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring vnto me, and I will heare it. 18 Also I commanded you the same time all the things which ye should doe. 19 Then we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wildernesse (as yee haue seene) by the way of the mountaine of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded vs: and we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I saide vnto you, Yee are come vnto the mountaine of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doeth giue vnto vs. 21 Beholde, the Lord thy God hath layde the land before thee: go vp and possesse it, as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath saide vnto thee: feare not, neither be discouraged. 22 Then ye came vnto me euery one, and said, We wil send men before vs, to search vs out the land and to bring vs word againe, what way we must go vp by, and vnto what cities we shall come. 23 So the saying pleased me well, and I tooke twelue men of you, of euery tribe one. 24 Who departed, and went vp into the mountaine, and came vnto the riuer Eshcol, and searched out the land. 25 And tooke of the fruite of the land in their hands, and brought it vnto vs, and brought vs worde againe, and sayd, It is a good land, which the Lord our God doeth giue vs. 26 Notwithstanding, ye would not go vp, but were disobedient vnto the commandement of the Lord your God, 27 And murmured in your tentes, and sayd, Because the Lord hated vs, therefore hath hee brought vs out of the land of Egypt, to deliuer vs into the hand of the Amorites, and to destroy vs. 28 Whither shall we go vp? our brethren haue discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater, and taller then we: the cities are great and walled vp to heauen: and moreouer we haue seene the sonnes of the Anakims there. 29 But I sayd vnto you, Dread not, nor be afrayd of them. 30 The Lord your God, who goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did vnto you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 And in the wildernesse, where thou hast seene how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doeth beare his sonne, in all the way which ye haue gone, vntill ye came vnto this place. 32 Yet for all this ye did not beleeue the Lord your God, 33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tentes in, in fire by night, that ye might see what way to goe, and in a cloude by day. 34 Then the Lord heard the voyce of your wordes, and was wroth, and sware, saying, 35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this froward generation, see that good land, which I sware to giue vnto your fathers, 36 Saue Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh: he shall see it, and to him will I giue the land that he hath troden vpon, and to his children, because he hath constantly followed the Lord. 37 Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not goe in thither, 38 But Ioshua the sonne of Nun which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: incourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherite it. 39 Moreouer, your children, which ye sayd should be a praye, and your sonnes, which in that day had no knowledge betweene good and euill, they shall go in thither, and vnto them wil I giue it, and they shall possesse it. 40 But as for you, turne backe, and take your iourney into the wildernesse by the way of the red Sea. 41 Then ye answered and sayd vnto me, We haue sinned against the Lord, we wil go vp, and fight, according to all that the Lord our God hath commanded vs: and ye armed you euery man to the warre, and were ready to goe vp into the mountaine. 42 But the Lord said vnto me, Say vnto them, Goe not vp, neither fight, (for I am not among you) least ye fall before your enemies. 43 And when I told you, ye would not heare, but rebelled against the commandement of the Lord, and were presumptuous, and went vp into the mountaine. 44 Then the Amorites which dwelt in that mountaine came out against you, and chased you (as bees vse to doe) and destroied you in Seir, euen vnto Hormah. 45 And when ye came againe, ye wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not heare your voyce, nor incline his eares vnto you. 46 So ye abode in Kadesh a long time, according to the time that ye had remained before.