CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 1
Chapter 1 of 34
Chapter Overview
What happens in Deuteronomy 1
Moses begins his first speech to the people of Israel. He looks back at their journey from Mount Sinai to the edge of the Promised Land, reminding them of the leaders he appointed and the tragic failure at Kadesh-barnea when they refused to enter the land.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 1
Introduction to Moses' Speech
Study note
Moses spoke these words on the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River, about 1406 BC. The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years and were finally ready to cross into Canaan. Moses knew he would not go with them, so he gave a series of farewell speeches.
1 Moses spoke all these words to all of Israel. They were camped east of the Jordan River, out in the wilderness. They were in the open plains across from the Red Sea, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 The trip from Mount Horeb to Kadesh-barnea through Mount Seir only takes eleven days on foot. (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.)
3 Forty years had passed since leaving Egypt. On the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke. He told the people all that the Lord had given him to say. And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;
4 This was after he had beaten Sihon. Sihon was the Amorite king who ruled from Heshbon. He had also beaten Og. Og was the king of Bashan who ruled from Ashtaroth and Edrei. After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:
5 While they were east of the Jordan in Moab, Moses started teaching the people God's instructions. Here is what he said: On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,
God's Command to Leave Horeb
Study note
Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, where God gave the Ten Commandments. After staying long enough to receive God's laws and build the tabernacle, God told them it was time to move on toward the Promised Land.
6 "Back at Mount Horeb, the Lord our God told us, 'You have camped beside this mountain long enough. The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:
7 Pack up and head out to the Amorite highlands and everywhere around them. Go to the flatlands, the hills, the low valleys, and the desert to the south. Go to the Mediterranean coast, the Canaanite territory, and the Lebanon mountains. Your land stretches all the way to the mighty Euphrates River.' Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
8 'I am handing this whole land over to you. Go and claim it! This is the very land I made a promise to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to all their children after them.'" Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.
Moses Appoints Leaders
Study note
The people had grown so large that Moses could not handle every problem alone. He chose wise and respected men from each tribe to serve as leaders over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. He also appointed judges and told them to be fair to everyone.
9 "I told you at that time, 'Leading all of you is more than I can do alone. And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:
10 The Lord your God has multiplied your numbers until you are as countless as the stars at night. The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times more and pour out blessings on you, just as he said he would!' (The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)
12 'But I cannot manage all your disputes, your heavy loads, and your quarrels on my own. How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
13 Pick out men from your tribes who are wise, experienced, and well respected, and I will set them up as your leaders.' Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.
14 "You all agreed and told me, 'That sounds like a great idea.' And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.
15 "So I selected the most capable and respected men from your tribes and gave them authority over you. Some were in charge of a thousand people, some over a hundred, some over fifty, and some over ten. I also appointed officials for each tribe. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
16 "I also instructed your judges at that time, 'Hear the cases your people bring to you and make fair decisions. Treat everyone equally, even foreigners living among you.' And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
17 'Never play favorites in your rulings. Give the ordinary person the same attention you give someone important. Do not let anyone make you afraid, because you are acting on God's behalf when you judge. Bring me any case that is too difficult for you, and I will take care of it.' Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
18 "That is when I laid out everything you were supposed to do." And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.
The Spies and Israel's Refusal
Study note
When Israel reached Kadesh-barnea on the southern border of Canaan, Moses sent twelve spies to explore the land. Ten of them said the people there were too strong. Israel panicked and refused to enter. God declared that generation would die in the wilderness.
19 "After that, we packed up and left Horeb. We crossed that enormous, terrifying desert on the road to the Amorite hill country, following the Lord our God's directions, and we arrived at Kadesh-barnea. And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20 I told you, 'Here we are at the Amorite highlands that the Lord our God has promised to give us. And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.
21 Take a look! The Lord your God is placing this land before you. Go claim it, just as the Lord, the God of your forefathers, told you. Do not be scared, and do not give up hope.' Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
22 "Then all of you approached me with a suggestion: 'Let us send some scouts ahead to check out the land. They can come back and tell us the best route and what the towns are like.' And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.
23 "I thought that was a fine plan, so I picked twelve men, one representing each tribe. And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:
24 They went up into the hill country. They reached the Valley of Eshcol and looked around the area. And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.
25 They gathered some fruit from the land and brought it back to us. Their report said, 'The land that the Lord our God is handing over to us is wonderful.' And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.
26 "But you would not go. You turned your backs on what the Lord your God had told you to do. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:
27 You sat in your tents complaining, 'The Lord must hate us! He dragged us out of Egypt so the Amorites could wipe us out.' And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD 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 'What is the point of even going? The scouts destroyed our confidence. They told us the people living there are bigger and taller than us. Their cities are massive, with walls so high they seem to touch heaven. On top of all that, they spotted the giant Anakim there.' Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.
29 "So I told you, 'Do not be terrified. Do not let those people scare you. Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
30 The Lord your God is marching out in front of you. He will battle for you, the same way he battled for you in Egypt -- you watched him do it. The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
31 You saw with your own eyes how the Lord your God cared for you. He carried you through the whole desert journey. He carried you the way a father carries his child. He did this all the way to this very spot.' And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.
32 "Yet even after seeing all of that, you refused to put your confidence in the Lord your God. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,
33 He was the one who traveled ahead of you, scouting out the best camping spots. He guided you with a pillar of fire at night to light your path, and with a cloud by day. Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
Consequences of Disobedience
Study note
Only Caleb and Joshua would enter the Promised Land. Even Moses was told he could not enter. When the Israelites tried to attack on their own without God's help, they were badly defeated by the Amorites and had to retreat.
34 "When the Lord heard your complaints, he became furious. He swore an oath, saying: And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
35 'No one from this wicked group of people will ever set foot in the good land I promised to give your ancestors. Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,
36 The only exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will get to see it. I will hand over to him and his descendants the territory he explored on foot, because he was completely devoted to following the Lord.' 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 the LORD.
37 "On top of that, the Lord got angry at me because of your behavior. He told me, 'You will not get to enter the land either.' Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.
38 'However, your assistant Joshua son of Nun will go in. Build him up and give him courage, because he is the one who will lead Israel into their new homeland.' But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
39 'As for your little ones -- the children you were so worried would be taken prisoner -- your kids who are still too young to tell right from wrong -- they are the ones who will enter the land. I am going to hand it over to them.' Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
40 'But the rest of you need to turn around and march back into the desert toward the Red Sea.' But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
41 "Then you responded, 'We made a terrible mistake by disobeying the Lord! We are ready to go up and fight now, just like the Lord our God ordered us to.' Every one of you grabbed your weapons, thinking it would be simple to charge up into the hill country. Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.
42 "But the Lord told me, 'Warn them not to go up there and fight. I will not be standing with them, and their enemies will crush them.' And the LORD 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 "I passed along the warning, but you ignored it. You defied what the Lord said and stubbornly marched up the hill on your own. So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill.
44 "The Amorites living in those hills rushed out and attacked you. They chased you the way angry bees swarm after someone, and they beat you badly from Seir all the way to Hormah. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
45 "You came back and wept before the Lord, but he refused to pay attention. He would not respond to your crying. And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.
46 "So you stayed at Kadesh for a very long time." So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.
Key Themes
Themes in Deuteronomy 1
Learning from past failuresThe cost of disobedienceGod's faithfulness despite human rebellionAppointing wise leadership
Apply This Today
Living Deuteronomy 1
Moses begins by reviewing Israel's failures, not to shame them but to teach the next generation. Honest reflection on past mistakes is essential for growth. The appointment of judges reminds us that wise, godly leadership structures are a gift from God, not a sign of weakness.
Go Deeper
Study Deuteronomy in Covenant Path
Read every chapter with study aids, bookmarks, and daily reading plans — free in the app.