Bible in 90 Days
20 Moses said:
You promised that you would be ready to fight for the Lord. 21 You also agreed to cross the Jordan and stay with the rest of the Israelites, until the Lord forces our enemies out of the land. If you do these things, 22 then after the Lord helps Israel capture the land, you can return to your own land. You will no longer have to stay with the others. 23 But if you don't keep your promise, you will sin against the Lord and be punished.
24 Go ahead and build towns for your wives and children, and places for your sheep and goats. Just be sure to do what you have promised.
25 The men from Reuben and Gad answered:
Sir, we will do just what you have said. 26 Our wives and children and sheep and cattle will stay here in the towns in Gilead. 27 But those of us who are prepared for battle will cross the Jordan and fight for the Lord.
28 (A) Then Moses said to Eleazar, Joshua, and the family leaders, 29 “Make sure that the tribes of Gad and Reuben prepare for battle and cross the Jordan River with you. If they do, then after the land is in your control, give them the region of Gilead as their tribal land. 30 But if they break their promise, they will receive land on the other side of the Jordan, like the rest of the tribes.”
31 The tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, “We are your servants and will do whatever the Lord has commanded. 32 We will cross the Jordan River, ready to fight for the Lord in Canaan. But the land we will inherit as our own will be on this side of the river.”
33 So Moses gave the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half of Manasseh[a] the territory and towns that King Sihon the Amorite had ruled, as well as the territory and towns that King Og of Bashan had ruled.[b]
34 The tribe of Gad rebuilt the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran. They built walls around them and also built places to keep their sheep and goats.
37 The tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Sibmah, as well as the towns that used to be known as Nebo and Baal-Meon. They renamed all those places.
39 The clan of Machir from the tribe of East Manasseh went to the region of Gilead, captured its towns, and forced out the Amorites. 40 So Moses gave the Machirites the region of Gilead, and they settled there.
41 Jair from the Manasseh tribe captured villages and renamed them “Villages of Jair.”[c]
42 Nobah captured the town of Kenath with its villages and renamed it Nobah.
Israel's Journey from Egypt to Moab
33 As Israel traveled from Egypt under the command of Moses and Aaron, 2 Moses kept a list of the places they camped, just as the Lord had instructed. Here is the record of their journey:
3-4 Israel left the Egyptian city of Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month.[d] This was the day after the Lord had punished Egypt's gods by killing the first-born sons in every Egyptian family. So while the Egyptians were burying the bodies, they watched the Israelites proudly[e] leave their country.
5 After the Israelites left Rameses, they camped at Succoth, 6 and from there, they moved their camp to Etham on the edge of the desert. 7 Then they turned back toward Pi-Hahiroth, east of Baal-Zephon, and camped near Migdol. 8 They left Pi-Hahiroth,[f] crossed the Red Sea,[g] then walked three days into the Etham Desert and camped at Marah. 9 Next, they camped at Elim, where there were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees. 10 They left Elim and camped near the Red Sea,[h] 11 then turned east and camped along the western edge of the Sinai Desert.[i] 12-14 From there they went to Dophkah, Alush, and Rephidim, where they had no water.[j] 15 They left Rephidim and finally reached the Sinai Desert.
16-36 As Israel traveled from the Sinai Desert to Kadesh in the Zin Desert, they camped at Kibroth-Hattaavah, Hazeroth, Rithmah, Rimmon-Perez, Libnah, Rissah, Kehelathah, Mount Shepher, Haradah, Makheloth, Tahath, Terah, Mithkah, Hashmonah, Moseroth, Bene-Jaakan, Hor-Haggidgad, Jotbathah, Abronah, Ezion-Geber, and finally Kadesh. 37 When they left Kadesh, they came to Mount Hor, on the border of Edom.
38 (B) That's where the Lord commanded Aaron the priest to go to the top of the mountain. Aaron died there on the first day of the fifth month,[k] 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt. 39 He was 123 years old at the time.
40 (C) It was then that the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Southern Desert of Canaan, heard that Israel was headed that way.
41-47 The Israelites left Mount Hor and headed toward Moab. Along the way, they camped at Zalmonah, Punon, Oboth, Iye-Abarim in the territory of Moab, Dibon-Gad, Almon-Diblathaim, at a place near Mount Nebo in the Abarim Mountains, 48 and finally in the lowlands of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho. 49 Their camp stretched from Beth-Jeshimoth to Acacia.
The Lord's Command To Conquer Canaan
50 While Israel was camped in the lowlands of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho, the Lord told Moses 51 to give the people of Israel this message:
When you cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan, 52 you must force out the people living there. Destroy their idols and tear down their altars. 53 Then settle in the land—I have given it to you as your own.
54 (D) I will show you[l] how to divide the land among the tribes, according to the number of clans in each one, so that the larger tribes will have more land than the smaller ones.
55 If you don't force out all the people there, they will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your back. They will always be trouble for you, 56 and I will treat you as severely as I planned on treating them.
Israel's Borders
34 The Lord told Moses 2 to tell the people of Israel that their land in Canaan would have the following borders:
3 The southern border will be the Zin Desert and the northwest part of Edom. This border will begin at the south end of the Dead Sea. 4 It will go west from there, but will turn southward to include Scorpion Pass, the village of Zin, and the town of Kadesh-Barnea. From there, the border will continue to Hazar-Addar and on to Azmon. 5 It will run along the Egyptian Gorge and end at the Mediterranean Sea.
6 The western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.
7 The northern border will begin at the Mediterranean, then continue eastward to Mount Hor.[m] 8 After that, it will run to Lebo-Hamath and across to Zedad, which is the northern edge of your land. 9 From Zedad, the border will continue east to Ziphron and end at Hazar-Enan.
10 The eastern border will begin at Hazar-Enan in the north, then run south to Shepham, 11 and on down to Riblah on the east side of Ain. From there, it will go south to the eastern hills of Lake Galilee,[n] 12 then follow the Jordan River down to the north end of the Dead Sea.
The land within those four borders will belong to you.
13 (E)(F) Then Moses told the people, “You will receive the land inside these borders. It will be yours, but the Lord has commanded you to divide it among the nine and a half tribes. 14 The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh have already been given their land 15 across from Jericho, east of the Jordan River.”
The Leaders Who Will Divide the Land
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun will divide the land for the Israelites. 18 One leader from each tribe will help them, 19-28 and here is the list of their names:
Caleb son of Jephunneh
from Judah,
Shemuel son of Ammihud
from Simeon,
Elidad son of Chislon
from Benjamin,
Bukki son of Jogli
from Dan,
Hanniel son of Ephod
from Manasseh,
Kemuel son of Shiphtan
from Ephraim,
Elizaphan son of Parnach
from Zebulun,
Paltiel son of Azzan
from Issachar,
Ahihud son of Shelomi
from Asher,
and Pedahel son of Ammihud
from Naphtali.”
29 These are the men the Lord commanded to help Eleazar and Joshua divide the land for the Israelites.
The Towns for the Levites
35 (G) While the people of Israel were still camped in the lowlands of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho, the Lord told Moses 2 to say to them:
When you receive your tribal lands, you must give towns and pastures to the Levi tribe. 3 That way, the Levites will have towns to live in and pastures for their animals. 4-5 The pasture around each of these towns must be in the shape of a square, with the town itself in the center. The pasture is to measure 900 meters on each side, with 450 meters of land outside each of the town walls. This will be the Levites' pastureland.
6 Six of the towns you give them will be Safe Towns where a person who has accidentally killed someone can run for protection. But you will also give the Levites 42 other towns, 7 so they will have a total of 48 towns with their surrounding pastures.
8 Since the towns for the Levites must come from Israel's own tribal lands, the larger tribes will give more towns than the smaller ones.
The Safe Towns
(Deuteronomy 19.1-13; Joshua 20.1-9)
9 (H) The Lord then told Moses 10 to tell the people of Israel:
After you have crossed the Jordan River and are settled in Canaan, 11 choose Safe Towns, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can run for protection. 12 If the victim's relatives think it was murder, they might try to take revenge.[o] Anyone accused of murder can run to one of these Safe Towns for protection and not be killed before a trial is held.
13 There are to be six of these Safe Towns, 14 three on each side of the Jordan River. 15 They will be places of protection for anyone who lives in Israel and accidentally kills someone.
Laws about Murder and Accidental Killing
The Lord said:
16-18 Suppose you hit someone with a piece of iron or a large stone or a dangerous wooden tool. If that person dies, then you are a murderer and must be put to death 19 by one of the victim's relatives. He will take revenge[p]for his relative's death as soon as he finds you.
20-21 Or suppose you get angry and kill someone by pushing or hitting or by throwing something. You are a murderer and must be put to death by one of the victim's relatives.
22-24 But if you are not angry and accidentally kill someone in any of these ways, the townspeople must hold a trial and decide if you are guilty. 25 If they decide that you are innocent, you will be protected from the victim's relative and sent to stay in one of the Safe Towns until the high priest dies. 26 But if you ever leave the Safe Town 27 and are killed by the victim's relative, he cannot be punished for killing you. 28 You must stay inside the town until the high priest dies; only then can you go back home.
29 The community of Israel must always obey these laws.
30 (I) Death is the penalty for murder. But no one accused of murder can be put to death unless there are at least two witnesses to the crime. 31 You cannot give someone money to escape the death penalty; you must pay with your own life! 32 And if you have been proven innocent of murder and are living in a Safe Town, you cannot pay to go back home; you must stay there until the high priest dies.
33-34 I, the Lord, live among you people of Israel, so your land must be kept pure. But when a murder takes place, blood pollutes the land, and it becomes unclean. If that happens, the murderer must be put to death, so the land will be clean again. Keep murder out of Israel!
The Laws about Married Women and Land
36 One day the family leaders from the Gilead clan of the Manasseh tribe went to Moses and the other family leaders of Israel 2 (J) and said, “Sir, the Lord has said that he will show[q] what land each tribe will receive as their own. And the Lord has commanded you to give the daughters of our relative Zelophehad[r] the land that he would have received. 3 But if they marry men from other tribes of Israel, the land they receive will become part of that tribe's inheritance and will no longer belong to us. 4 Even when land is returned to its original owner in the Year of Celebration,[s] we will not get back Zelophehad's land—it will belong to the tribe into which his daughters married.”
5 So Moses told the people that the Lord had said:
These men from the Manasseh tribe are right. 6 I will allow Zelophehad's daughters to marry anyone, as long as those men belong to one of the clans of the Manasseh tribe.
7 Tribal land must not be given to another tribe—it will remain the property of the tribe that received it. 8-9 In the future, any daughter who inherits land must marry someone from her own tribe. Israel's tribal land is never to be passed from one tribe to another.
10-11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah the daughters of Zelophehad obeyed the Lord and married their uncles' sons 12 and remained part of the Manasseh tribe. So their land stayed in their father's clan.
13 These are the laws that the Lord gave to Moses and the Israelites while they were camped in the lowlands of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.
The Final Speeches of Moses
1 1-5 (K) 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[t] 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[u] to Kadesh-Barnea by way of the Mount Seir Road, these speeches were not made until 40 years after Israel left Egypt.[v]
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,[w] Moses began explaining those laws by saying:
6 People of Israel, when we were in our camp at Mount Sinai,[x] 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,[y] 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[z] 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[aa] 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 (L) 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,[ab] and some of them are Anakim.[ac] 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 (M) 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 (N) 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.[ad]
34 (O) 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[ae] 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[af] 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[ag] 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[ah] Road. 2 1 (P) We spent many years wandering around outside the hill country of Seir,[ai] 2 until the Lord said:
Moses, 3 Israel has wandered in these hills long enough. Turn and go north. 4 (Q) And give the people these orders: “Be very careful, because you will soon go through the land that belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau.[aj] They are afraid of you, 5 but don't start a war with them. I have given them the hill country of Seir, so I won't give any of it to you, not even enough to set a foot on. 6 And as you go through their land, you will have to buy food and water from them.”
7 The Lord has helped us and taken care of us during the past 40 years that we have been in this huge desert. We've had everything we needed, and the Lord has blessed us and made us successful in whatever we have done.
8 We went past the territory that belonged to our relatives, the descendants of Esau.[ak] We followed Arabah Road that starts in the south at Elath and Ezion-Geber, then we turned onto the desert road that leads to Moab.
9 (R) The Lord told me, “Don't try to start a war with Moab. Leave them alone, because I gave the land of Ar[al] to them,[am] and I will not let you have any of it.”
Tribes That Lived near Canaan
10 Before the Lord gave the Moabites their land, a large and powerful tribe lived there. They were the Emim, and they were as tall as the Anakim. 11 The Moabites called them Emim, though others sometimes used the name Rephaim[an] for both the Anakim and the Emim.
12 The Horites used to live in Seir, but the Edomites[ao] took over that region. They killed many of the Horites and forced the rest of them to leave, just as Israel did to the people in the land that the Lord gave them.
Israel Crossed the Zered Gorge
Moses said to Israel:
13 When we came to the Zered Gorge along the southern border of Moab, the Lord told us to cross the gorge into Moab, and we did. 14 (S) This was 38 years after we left Kadesh-Barnea, and by that time all the men who had been in the army at Kadesh-Barnea had died, just as the Lord had said they would. 15-16 The Lord kept getting rid of[ap] them until finally none of them were left.
17 Then the Lord told me, 18 “Moses, now go past the town of Ar and cross Moab's northern border 19 (T) into Ammon. But don't start a war with the Ammonites. I gave them[aq] their land, and I won't give any of it to Israel.”
More Nations That Lived near Canaan
20 Before the Ammonites conquered the land that the Lord had given them, some of the Rephaim used to live there, although the Ammonites called them Zamzummim. 21 The Zamzummim were a large and powerful tribe and were as tall as the Anakim.[ar] But the Lord helped the Ammonites, and they killed many of the Zamzummim and forced the rest to leave. Then the Ammonites settled there. 22 The Lord helped them as he had helped the Edomites,[as] who killed many of the Horites in Seir and forced the rest to leave before settling there themselves.
23 A group called the Avvim used to live in villages as far south as Gaza, but the Philistines[at] killed them and settled on their land.
Israel Crossed the Arnon Gorge
Moses said:
24 After we went through Ammon, the Lord told us:
Israel, pack up your possessions, take down your tents, and cross the Arnon River gorge.[au] The territory of the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon lies on the other side of the river, but I now give you his land. So attack and take it! 25 Today I will start making all other nations afraid of you. They will tremble with fear when anyone mentions you, and they will be terrified when you show up.
The Defeat of King Sihon of Heshbon
(Numbers 21.21-30)
Moses said to Israel:
26 After we had crossed the Arnon and had set up camp in the Kedemoth Desert, I sent messengers to King Sihon of Heshbon, telling him that his nation and ours could be at peace. I said:
27 Please let Israel go across your country. We will walk straight through, without turning off the road. 28-29 You can even sell us food and water, and we will pay with silver. We need to reach the Jordan River and cross it, because the Lord our God is giving us the land on the west side. The Edomites and Moabites[av] have already let us cross their land. Please let us cross your land as well.
30-31 But Sihon refused to let us go across his country, because the Lord made him stubborn and eager to fight us. The Lord told me, “I am going to help you defeat Sihon and take his land, so attack him!”
32 We met Sihon and his army in battle at Jahaz, 33 and the Lord our God helped us defeat them. We killed Sihon, his sons, and everyone else in his army. 34 Then we captured and destroyed every town in Sihon's kingdom, killing everyone, 35 but keeping the livestock and everything else of value. 36 The Lord helped us capture every town from the Arnon River gorge north to the boundary of Gilead, including the town of Aroer on the edge of the gorge and the town in the middle of the gorge.
37 However, we stayed away from all the Ammonite towns, both in the hill country and near the Jabbok River, just as the Lord had commanded.
The Defeat of King Og of Bashan
(Numbers 21.31-35)
Moses said to Israel:
3 When we turned onto the road that leads to Bashan, King Og of Bashan led out his whole army to fight us at Edrei. 2 But the Lord told me, “Moses, don't be afraid of King Og. I am going to help you defeat him and his army and take over his land. Destroy him and his people, just as you did with the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon.”
3-6 The Lord our God helped us destroy Og and his army and conquer his entire kingdom of Bashan, including the Argob region. His kingdom had lots of villages and 60 towns with high walls and gates that locked with bars. We completely destroyed[aw] them all, killing everyone, 7 but keeping the livestock and everything else of value.
8 Sihon and Og had ruled Amorite kingdoms east of the Jordan River. Their land stretched from the Arnon River gorge in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, and we captured it all. 9 Mount Hermon is called Mount Sirion by the people of Sidon, and it is called Mount Senir by the Amorites. 10 We captured all the towns in the highlands, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, two of the towns that Og had ruled.
Og's Coffin
11 King Og was the last of the Rephaim,[ax] and his coffin[ay] is in the town of Rabbah in Ammon. It is made of hard black rock[az] and is four meters long and almost two meters wide.
The Land East of the Jordan River Is Divided
(Numbers 32.1-42)
Moses said to Israel:
12-17 I gave some of the land and towns we captured to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Their share started at the Arnon River gorge in the south, took in the town of Aroer on the edge of the gorge, and went far enough north to include the southern half of the Gilead region. The northern part of their land went as far east as the upper Jabbok River gorge, which formed their border with the Ammonites.[ba] I also gave them the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, from Lake Galilee[bb] south to the Dead Sea[bc] below the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
I gave the northern half of Gilead and all of the Bashan region to half the tribe of Manasseh.[bd] Bashan had belonged to King Og, and the Argob region in Bashan used to be called the Land of the Rephaim. Jair from the Manasseh tribe conquered the Argob region as far west as the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. The Israelites even started calling Bashan by the name “Villages of Jair,”[be] and that is still its name. I gave the northern half of Gilead to the Machir clan.[bf]
18-19 (U) At that time I told the men of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh:
The Lord our God told me to give you this land with its towns, and that's what I have done. Now your wives and children can stay here with your large flocks of sheep and goats and your large herds of cattle. But all of you men that can serve in our army must cross the Jordan River and help the other tribes, because they are your relatives. 20 The Lord will let them defeat the enemy nations on the west side of the Jordan and take their land. Afterwards, you can come back here to the land I gave you.
21-22 Then I told Joshua, “You saw how the Lord our God helped us destroy King Sihon and King Og. So don't be afraid! Wherever you go, the Lord will fight on your side and help you destroy your enemies.”
God Refused To Let Moses Enter Canaan
Moses said to Israel:
23 (V) At that time I prayed and begged, 24 “Our Lord, it seems that you have just begun to show me your great power. No other god in the sky or on earth is able to do the mighty things that you do. 25 The land west of the Jordan is such good land. Please let me cross the Jordan and see the hills and the Lebanon Mountains.”
26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you people,[bg] and he refused to listen. “That's enough!” he said. “I don't want to hear any more. 27 Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah and look north, south, east, and west. Take a good look, but you are not going to cross the Jordan River. 28 Joshua will lead Israel across the Jordan to take the land, so help him be strong and brave and tell him what he must do.”
29 After this we stayed in the valley at Beth-Peor.
Israel Must Obey God
Moses said:
4 Israel, listen to these laws and teachings! If you obey them, you will live, and you will go in and take the land that the Lord is giving you. He is the God your ancestors worshiped, 2 (W) and now he is your God. I am telling you everything he has commanded, so don't add anything or take anything away.
3 (X) You saw how he killed everyone who worshiped the god Baal Peor.[bh] 4 But all of you that were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today.
5-8 (Y) No other nation has laws that are as fair as the ones the Lord my God told me to give you. If you faithfully obey them when you enter the land, you will show other nations how wise you are. In fact, everyone that hears about your laws will say, “That great nation certainly is wise!” And what makes us greater than other nations? We have a God who is close to us and answers our prayers.
9 You must be very careful not to forget the things you have seen God do for you. Keep reminding yourselves, and tell your children and grandchildren as well. 10 Do you remember the day you stood in the Lord's presence at Mount Sinai?[bi] The Lord said, “Moses, bring the people of Israel here. I want to speak to them so they will obey me as long as they live, and so they will teach their children to obey me too.”
11 (Z) Mount Sinai[bj] was surrounded by deep dark clouds, and fire went up to the sky. You came to the foot of the mountain, 12 and the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You could hear him and understand what he was saying, but you couldn't see him. 13 (AA) The Lord said he was making an agreement with you, and he told you that your part of the agreement is to obey the Ten Commandments. Then the Lord wrote these Commandments on two flat stones.
14 (AB) That's when the Lord commanded me to give you the laws and teachings you must obey in the land that you will conquer west of the Jordan River.
Don't Worship Idols
Moses said to Israel:
15 When God spoke to you from the fire, he was invisible. So be careful 16 (AC) not to commit the sin of worshiping idols. Don't make idols to be worshiped, whether they are shaped like men, women, 17 (AD) animals, birds, 18 reptiles, or fish. 19 And when you see the sun or moon or stars, don't be tempted to bow down and worship them. The Lord put them there for all the other nations to worship. 20 (AE) But you are the Lord's people, because he rescued you from Egypt, that fiery furnace.
21 (AF) The Lord was angry with me because of what you said,[bk] and he told me that he would not let me cross the Jordan River into the good land that he is giving you.[bl] 22 So I must stay here and die on this side of the Jordan, but you will cross the river and take the land.
23 Always remember the agreement that the Lord your God made with you, and don't make an idol in any shape or form. 24 (AG) The Lord will be angry if you worship other gods, and he can be like a fire destroying everything in its path.
25-26 Soon you will cross the Jordan River and settle down in the land. Then in the years to come, you will have children, and they will give you grandchildren. After many years, you might lose your sense of right and wrong and make idols, even though the Lord your God hates them. So I am giving you fair warning today, and I call the earth and the sky as witnesses. If you ever make idols, the Lord will be angry, and you won't have long to live, because the Lord will let you be wiped out. 27 (AH) Only a few of you will survive, and the Lord will force you to leave the land and will scatter you among the nations. 28 There you will have to worship gods made of wood and stone, and these are nothing but idols that can't see or hear or eat or smell.
29-30 (AI) In all of your troubles, you may finally decide that you want to worship only the Lord. And if you turn back to him and obey him completely, he will again be your God. 31 The Lord your God will have mercy—he won't destroy you or desert you. The Lord will remember his promise, and he will keep the agreement he made with your ancestors.
32-34 When the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt, you saw how he fought for you and showed his great power by performing terrifying miracles. You became his people, and at Mount Sinai you heard him talking to you out of fiery flames. And yet you are still alive! Has anything like this ever happened since the time God created humans? No matter where you go or who you ask, you will get the same answer. No one has ever heard of another god even trying to do such things as the Lord your God has done for you.
35-36 (AJ) The Lord wants you to know he is the only true God, and he wants you to obey him. That's why he let you see his mighty miracles and his fierce fire on earth, and why you heard his voice from that fire and from the sky.
37 The Lord loved your ancestors and decided that you would be his people. So the Lord used his great power to bring you out of Egypt. 38 Now you face other nations more powerful than you are, but the Lord has already started forcing them out of their land and giving it to you.
39 So remember that the Lord is the only true God, whether in the sky above or on the earth below. 40 Today I am explaining his laws and teachings. And if you always obey them, you and your descendants will live long and be successful in the land the Lord is giving you.
Safe Towns
41-43 (AK) Moses said, “People of Israel, you must set aside the following three towns east of the Jordan River as Safe Towns: Bezer in the desert highlands belonging to the Reuben tribe; Ramoth in Gilead, belonging to the Gad tribe; and Golan in Bashan, belonging to the Manasseh tribe. If you kill a neighbor without meaning to, and if you had not been angry with that person, you can run to one of these towns and find safety.”[bm]
The Second Speech: Moses Tells What the Lord Demands
Israel at Beth-Peor
44-46 The Israelites had come from Egypt and were camped east of the Jordan River near Beth-Peor, when Moses gave these laws and teachings. The land around their camp had once belonged to King Sihon of Heshbon. But Moses and the Israelites defeated him 47 and King Og of Bashan, and took their lands. These two Amorite kings had ruled the territory east of the Jordan River 48 from the town of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon River gorge, north to Mount Hermon.[bn] 49 Their land included the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, as far south as the Dead Sea[bo] below the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
The Ten Commandments
(Exodus 20.1-17)
5 Moses called together the people of Israel and said:
Today I am telling you the laws and teachings that you must follow, so listen carefully. 2 The Lord our God made an agreement with our nation at Mount Sinai.[bp] 3 That agreement wasn't only with[bq] our ancestors but with us, who are here today. 4 The Lord himself spoke to you out of the fire, 5 but you were afraid of the fire and refused to go up the mountain. So I spoke with the Lord for you, then I told you that he had said:
6 I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves.
7 Do not worship any god except me.
8 (AL) Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. 9 (AM) Don't bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me and worship idols, I will punish your families for three or four generations. 10 But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.
11 (AN) Do not misuse my name.[br] I am the Lord your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.
12 (AO) Show respect for the Sabbath Day—it belongs to me. 13 (AP) You have six days when you can do your work, 14 but the seventh day of the week belongs to me, your God. No one is to work on that day—not you, your children, your oxen or donkeys or any other animal, not even those foreigners who live in your towns. And don't make your slaves do any work. 15 This special day of rest will remind you that I reached out my mighty arm and rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
16 (AQ) Respect your father and mother, and you will live a long and successful life in the land I am giving you.
17 (AR) Do not murder.
18 (AS) Be faithful in marriage.
19 (AT) Do not steal.
20 (AU) Do not tell lies about others.
21 (AV) Do not desire to possess anything that belongs to another person—not a house, a wife, a husband, a slave, an ox, a donkey, or anything else.
22 (AW) When we were gathered at the mountain, the Lord spoke to us in a loud voice from the dark fiery cloud. The Lord gave us these commands, and only these. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and gave them to me.
The People Were Afraid
(Exodus 20.18-21)
Moses said to Israel:
23 When fire blazed from the mountain, and you heard the voice coming from the darkness, your tribal leaders came to me 24 and said:
Today the Lord our God has shown us how powerful and glorious he is. He spoke to us from the fire, and we learned that people can live, even though God speaks to them. 25 But we don't want to take a chance on being killed by that terrible fire, and if we keep on hearing the Lord's voice, we will die. 26 Has anyone else ever heard the only true God speaking from fire, as we have? And even if they have, would they live to tell about it? 27 Moses, go up close and listen to the Lord. Then come back and tell us, and we will do everything he says.
28 The Lord heard you and said:
Moses, I heard what the people said to you, and I approve. 29 I wish they would always worship me with fear and trembling and be this willing to obey me! Then they and their children would always enjoy a successful life.
30 Now, tell them to return to their tents, 31 but you come back here to me. After I tell you my laws and teachings, you will repeat them to the people, so they can obey these laws in the land I am giving them.
Moses said:
32 Israel, you must carefully obey the Lord's commands. 33 Follow them, because they make a path that will lead to a long successful life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
The Most Important Commandment
Moses said to Israel:
6 The Lord told me to give you these laws and teachings,[bs] so you can obey them in the land he is giving you. Soon you will cross the Jordan River and take that land. 2 And if you and your descendants want to live a long time, you must always worship the Lord and obey his laws. 3 Pay attention, Israel! Our ancestors worshiped the Lord, and he promised to give us this land that is rich with milk and honey. Be careful to obey him, and you will become a successful and powerful nation.
4 (AX) Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God![bt] 5 (AY) So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. 6 (AZ) Memorize his laws 7 and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. 8 Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them. 9 Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates.
Worship Only the Lord
Moses said to Israel:
10 (BA) The Lord promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you this land. Now he will take you there and give you large towns, with good buildings that you didn't build, 11 and houses full of good things that you didn't put there. The Lord will give you wells[bu] that you didn't have to dig, and vineyards and olive orchards that you didn't have to plant. But when you have eaten so much that you can't eat any more, 12 don't forget it was the Lord who set you free from slavery and brought you out of Egypt. 13 (BB) Worship and obey the Lord your God with fear and trembling, and promise that you will be loyal to him.
14 Don't have anything to do with gods that are worshiped by the nations around you. 15 If you worship other gods, the Lord will be furious and wipe you off the face of the earth. The Lord your God is with you, 16 (BC) so don't try to make him prove that he can help you, as you did at Massah.[bv] 17 Always obey the laws that the Lord has given you 18-19 and live in a way that pleases him. Then you will be able to go in and take this good land from your enemies, just as he promised your ancestors.
20 Someday your children will ask, “Why did the Lord give us these laws and teachings?”
21 Then you will answer:
We were slaves of the king of Egypt, but the Lord used his great power and set us free. 22 We saw him perform miracles and make horrible things happen to the king, his officials, and everyone else. 23 The Lord rescued us from Egypt, so he could bring us into this land, as he had promised our ancestors. 24-25 That's why the Lord our God demands that we obey his laws and worship him with fear and trembling. And if we do, he will protect us and help us be successful.
Force the Other Nations Out of the Land
(Exodus 34.11-16)
Moses said:
7 (BD) People of Israel, the Lord your God will help you take the land of the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. These seven nations have more people and are stronger than Israel, but when you attack them, 2 the Lord will force them out of the land. Then you must destroy them without mercy. Don't make any peace treaties with them, 3 and don't let your sons and daughters marry any of them. 4 If you do, those people will lead your descendants to worship other gods and to turn their backs on the Lord. That will make him very angry, and he will quickly destroy Israel.
5 (BE) So when you conquer these nations, tear down the altars where they worship their gods. Break up their sacred stones, cut down the poles that they use in worshiping the goddess Asherah, and throw their idols in the fire.
The Lord's Chosen People
Moses said:
6 (BF) Israel, you are the chosen people of the Lord your God. There are many nations on this earth, but he chose only Israel to be his very own. 7 You were the weakest of all nations, 8 but the Lord chose you because he loves you and because he had made a promise to your ancestors. Then with his mighty arm, he rescued you from the king of Egypt, who had made you his slaves.
9 (BG) You know that the Lord your God is the only true God. So love him and obey his commands, and he will faithfully keep his agreement with you and your descendants for a thousand generations. 10 But if you turn against the Lord, he will quickly destroy you. 11 So be sure to obey his laws and teachings I am giving you today.
The Lord Will Bless You if You Obey
(Deuteronomy 28.1-14; Leviticus 26.3-13)
Moses said to Israel:
12 (BH) If you completely obey these laws, the Lord your God will be loyal and keep the agreement he made with you, just as he promised our ancestors. 13 The Lord will love you and bless you by giving you many children and plenty of food, wine, and olive oil. Your herds of cattle will have many calves, and your flocks of sheep will have many lambs. 14 God will bless you more than any other nation—your families will grow and your livestock increase. 15 You will no longer suffer with the same horrible diseases that you sometimes had in Egypt. You will be healthy, but the Lord will make your enemies suffer from those diseases.
Destroy the Nations and Their Gods
Moses said to Israel:
16 When the Lord helps you defeat your enemies, you must destroy them without pity! And don't get trapped into worshiping their gods.
17 You may be thinking, “How can we destroy these nations? They are more powerful than we are.” 18 But stop worrying! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Egypt and its king. 19 You saw how the Lord used his tremendous power to work great miracles and bring you out of Egypt. And he will again work miracles for you when you face these enemies you fear so much. 20 Some of them may try to survive by hiding from you, but the Lord will make them panic, and soon they will be dead.[bw] 21 So don't be frightened when you meet them in battle. The Lord your God is great and fearsome, and he will fight at your side.
22 As you attack these nations, the Lord will force them out little by little. He won't let you get rid of them all at once—if he did, there wouldn't be enough people living in the land to keep down the number of wild animals. 23-24 But when you attack your enemies, the Lord will make them panic, and you will easily destroy them. You will defeat their kings one after another until they are gone, and no one will remember they ever lived.
25 After you conquer a nation, burn their idols. Don't get trapped into wanting the silver or gold on an idol. Even the metal on an idol is disgusting to the Lord, 26 so destroy it. If you bring it home with you, both you and your house will be destroyed. Stay away from those disgusting idols!
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