Deuteronomy 1:1-13 ▼

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to the assembly of Israel east of the Jordan River, in the Arabah desert, opposite Suph between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.

2 It takes eleven days to travel from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea via Mount Seir.

3 On the first day of the eleventh month, in the fortieth year, Moses spoke to the Israelis about everything that the LORD had commanded him concerning them.

4 This took place after he defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth at Edrei.

5 East of the Jordan River, in the land of Moab, Moses began to expound this Law:

6 |The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb. He said, 'You have been at this mountain long enough.

7 Break camp, get going, and proceed to the hill country of the Amorites and all the nearby places in the Arabah desert, the highlands, the foothills, the Negev, the coastal plains, all of the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates.

8 Look! I've given you the land that lies ahead. Go in and possess the land that I, the LORD, promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as to their descendants.'|

9 |I also told you at that time that I won't be able to sustain you on my own.

10 The LORD your God greatly multiplied your numbers, and today you are like the stars in the sky.

11 May the LORD, the God of your ancestors, increase your numbers a thousand times more, and may he bless you, as he promised you.

12 How can I bear the burden of you and your bickering all by myself?

13 Choose for yourselves wise and discerning men, known to your tribes, and appoint them as your leaders.