1 Estas são as palavras que Moisés falou a todo o Israel além do Jordão no deserto, na Arabá defronte de Sufe, entre Parã, Tôfel, Labã, Hazerote e Di-Zaabe.

2 É viagem de onze dias desde Horebe, pelo caminho do monte Seir, até Cades-Barnéia.

3 No ano quadragésimo, no undécimo mês, no primeiro dia do mês falou Moisés aos filhos de Israel conforme tudo o que Jeová lhe havia ordenado com relação a eles,

4 depois de ter derrotado a Seom, rei dos amorreus, que habitava em Hesbom, e a Ogue, rei de Basã, que habitava em Astarote, em Edrei.

5 Além do Jordão, na terra de Moabe, resolveu Moisés explicar esta lei, dizendo:

6 Jeová nosso Deus falou-nos em Horebe: Assaz vos tendes demorado neste monte.

7 Voltai, ponde-vos a caminho, e ide à região montanhosa dos amorreus, e a todos os lugares vizinhos da Arabá, da região montanhosa, da Sefelá, do Neguebe, da costa marítima, terra dos cananeus, e do Líbano, até o grande rio, o rio Eufrates.

8 Eis que vos entreguei esta terra; entrai e possuí a terra que Jeová prometeu com juramento a vossos pais, a Abraão, a Isaque, e a Jacó, a eles e à sua semente depois deles.

9 Eu vos disse nesse tempo: Não posso sozinho levar-vos;

10 Jeová vosso Deus vos tem multiplicado, e em multidão sois hoje como as estrelas do céu.

11 Jeová, Deus de vossos pais, vos faça mil vezes mais numerosos do que sois, e vos abençoe, como vos prometeu.

12 Como posso sozinho levar o vosso peso, a vossa carga e a vossa contenda?

13 Tomai-vos homens sábios, e entendidos e experimentados segundo as vossas tribos, e pô-los-ei por cabeças sobre vós.

14 Respondestes-me: É bom fazer o que disseste.

15 Tomei, pois, os cabeças das vossas tribos, homens sábios e entendidos, e fi-los cabeças sobre vós, capitães de mil, capitães de cem, capitães de cinqüenta e capitães de dez, e oficiais, segundo as vossas tribos.

16 Mandei aos vossos juízes nesse tempo, dizendo: Ouvi as causas entre vossos irmãos, e julgai com justiça entre um homem e seu irmão, ou o estrangeiro que está com ele.

17 Ao julgardes, não vos deixareis levar de respeitos humanos. Do mesmo modo ouvireis o pequeno como o grande; não temereis o rosto de homem algum, porque o juízo é de Deus. A causa que for demasiado difícil para vós, a trareis para mim, e ouvi-la-ei.

18 Ordenei-vos nesse tempo tudo o que deveis fazer.

19 Tendo partido de Horebe, passamos por todo aquele grande e medonho deserto que vistes, no caminho da região montanhosa dos amorreus, como Jeová nosso Deus nos ordenou; e chegamos a Cades-Barnéia.

20 Então eu vos disse: Sois chegados à região montanhosa dos amorreus, a qual Jeová nosso Deus nos está dando.

21 Eis que Jeová teu Deus te entregou a terra; sobe, e toma posse dela, como te prometeu Jeová, Deus de teus pais; não temas, nem te assustes.

22 Então todos vós chegastes a mim, e dissestes: Enviemos homens adiante de nós, que nos espiem a terra, e nos ensinem o caminho por que devemos subir, e as cidades a que devemos ir.

23 Isto me pareceu bem, e tomei doze homens dentre vós, um homem de cada tribo;

24 eles, tendo-se posto a caminho, subiram a região montanhosa, e chegaram ao vale de Escol, e espiaram a terra.

25 Tendo tomado do fruto da terra nas mãos, nô-lo trouxeram, e nos informaram, dizendo: É terra boa a que Jeová nosso Deus nos está dando.

26 Porém não quisestes subir, e fostes rebeldes à ordem de Jeová vosso Deus.

27 Murmurastes nas vossas tendas e dissestes: Porque Jeová nos odiou, tirou-nos da terra do Egito, para nos entregar nas mãos dos amorreus, a fim de nos destruir.

28 Para onde estamos nós subindo? nossos irmãos fizeram que se derretesse nosso coração, dizendo: O povo é maior e mais alto do que nós, as cidades são grandes e fortificadas até o céu. Também vimos ali os filhos dos anaquins.

29 Então eu vos disse: Não tremais, nem tenhais medo deles.

30 Jeová vosso Deus que vai adiante de vós, ele mesmo pelejará por vós, segundo tudo o que fez por vós no Egito, diante dos vossos olhos,

31 e no deserto, em que vistes como Jeová vosso Deus vos levou, como um homem leva a seu filho, em todo o caminho por que andastes, até chegardes a este lugar.

32 Apesar disso continuastes descrendo a Jeová vosso Deus,

33 que foi adiante de vós no caminho, para vos procurar o lugar em que devíeis acampar, de noite no fogo, para vos mostrar o caminho, por onde devíeis andar, e de dia na nuvem.

34 Tendo Jeová, pois, ouvido a voz das vossas palavras, indignou-se e jurou, dizendo:

35 Certamente nenhum destes homens, esta geração perversa, verá a boa terra, que prometi com juramento dar a vossos pais,

36 exceto Calebe, filho de Jefoné. Ele a verá; e a terra que pisou, dá-la-ei a ele, e a seus filhos, pois perseverou em seguir a Jeová.

37 Também contra mim se irou Jeová por causa de vós, dizendo: Igualmente tu lá não entrarás.

38 Josué, filho de Num, que te serve, entrará para ali; anima-o, porque ele fará que Israel a receba por herança.

39 Vossos pequeninos de quem dissestes que seriam por presa, e vossos filhos, que hoje não têm conhecimento do bem nem do mal, esses lá entrarão, e a eles darei a terra, e a possuirão.

40 Porém vós voltai, e parti para o deserto pelo caminho do mar Vermelho.

41 Então me respondestes: Pecamos contra Jeová, nós subiremos e pelejaremos, de acordo com tudo o que Jeová nosso Deus nos ordenou. Vós vos armastes, cada um dos seus instrumentos de guerra, e vos mostrastes temerários subindo o monte.

42 Disse-me Jeová: Dize-lhes: Não subais, nem pelejeis, porque não estou no meio de vós; para que não sejais feridos diante dos vossos inimigos.

43 Assim vos falei, e não escutastes; antes rebelastes contra a ordem de Jeová, fostes presunçosos e subistes o monte.

44 Os amorreus, que habitavam naquele monte, saíram ao vosso encontro, e vos perseguiram, como o fazem as abelhas, derrotando-vos em Seir, até Hormá.

45 Tendo voltado, chorastes diante de Jeová; porém Jeová não vos ouviu a vós, nem inclinou os ouvidos a vós.

46 Assim ficastes muitos dias em Cades, segundo os dias que ali ficastes.

1 These are the words which Moses said to all Israel on the far side of Jordan, in the waste land in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran on the one side, and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other.

2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

3 Now in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses gave to the children of Israel all the orders which the Lord had given him for them;

4 After he had overcome Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, ruling in Ashtaroth, at Edrei:

5 On the far side of Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses gave the people this law, saying,

6 The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have been long enough in this mountain:

7 Make a move now, and go on your way into the hill-country of the Amorites and the places near it, in the Arabah and the hill-country and in the lowlands and in the South and by the seaside, all the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

8 See, all the land is before you: go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them.

9 At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself;

10 The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number.

11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said!

12 How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments?

13 Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

14 And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say.

15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes.

16 And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him.

17 In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.

18 And at that time I gave you all the orders which you were to do.

19 Then we went on from Horeb, through all that great and cruel waste which you saw, on our way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the Lord gave us orders; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

20 And I said to you, You have come to the hill-country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.

21 See now, the Lord your God has put the land into your hands: go up and take it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you; have no fear and do not be troubled.

22 And you came near to me, every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us to go through the land with care and give us an account of the way we are to go and the towns to which we will come.

23 And what you said seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from among you, one from every tribe;

24 And they went up into the hill-country and came to the valley of Eshcol, and saw what was there.

25 And taking in their hands some of the fruit of the land, they came down again to us, and gave us their account, saying, It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.

26 But going against the order of the Lord your God, you would not go up:

27 And you made an angry outcry in your tents, and said, In his hate for us the Lord has taken us out of the land of Egypt, to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction.

28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts feeble with fear by saying, The people are greater and taller than we are, and the towns are great and walled up to heaven; and more than this, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.

29 Then I said to you, Have no fear of them.

30 The Lord your God who goes before you will be fighting for you, and will do such wonders as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

31 And in the waste land, where you have seen how the Lord was supporting you, as a man does his son, in all your journeying till you came to this place.

32 But for all this, you had no faith in the Lord your God,

33 Who goes before you on your way, looking for a place where you may put up your tents, in fire by night, lighting up the way you are to go, and in a cloud by day.

34 And the Lord, hearing your words, was angry, and said with an oath,

35 Truly, not one of this evil generation will see that good land which I said I would give to your fathers,

36 But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart.

37 And, in addition, the Lord was angry with me because of you, saying, You yourself will not go into it:

38 Joshua, the son of Nun, your servant, he will go into the land: say to him that he is to be strong, for he will be Israel's guide into their heritage.

39 And your little ones, who, you said, would come into strange hands, your children, who now have no knowledge of good or evil, they will go into that land, and to them I will give it and it will be theirs.

40 But as for you, go back, journeying into the waste land by the way of the Red Sea.

41 Then you said to me, We have done evil against the Lord, we will go up to the attack, as the Lord our God has given us orders. And arming yourselves every one, you made ready to go up without care into the hill-country.

42 And the Lord said to me, Say to them, Do not go up to the attack; for I am not among you, and you will be overcome by those who are against you.

43 This I said to you, but you gave no attention and went against the orders of the Lord, and in your pride went up into the hill-country.

44 And the Amorites who were in the hill-country came out against you and put you to flight, rushing after you like bees, and overcame you in Seir, driving you even as far as Hormah.

45 And you came back, weeping before the Lord; but the Lord gave no attention to your cries and did not give ear to you.

46 So you were kept waiting in Kadesh for a long time.