The Boundaries of the Land (NUM 34:1-15)

[34:1] The Lord gave Moses

[34:2] the following instructions for the people of Israel: “When you enter Canaan, the land which I am giving you, the borders of your territory will be as follows.

[34:3] The southern border will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. It will begin on the east at the southern end of the Dead Sea.

[34:4] Then it will turn southward toward Akrabbim Pass and continue on through Zin as far south as Kadesh Barnea. Then it will turn northwest to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon,

[34:5] where it will turn toward the valley at the border of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean.

[34:6] “The western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.

[34:7] “The northern border will follow a line from the Mediterranean to Mount Hor

[34:8] and from there to Hamath Pass. It will continue to Zedad

[34:9] and to Ziphron, and will end at Hazar Enan.

[34:10] “The eastern border will follow a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.

[34:11] It will then go south to Harbel, east of Ain, and on to the hills on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee,

[34:12] then south along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. “These will be the four borders of your land.”

[34:13] So Moses said to the Israelites, “This is the land that you will receive by drawing lots, the land that the Lord has assigned to the nine and one-half tribes.

[34:14] The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of Manasseh have received their property, divided according to their families,

[34:15] on the eastern side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.”

The Leaders Responsible for Dividing the Land (NUM 34:16-29)

[34:16] The Lord said to Moses,

[34:17] “Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun will divide the land for the people.

[34:18] Take also one leader from each tribe to help them divide it.”

[34:29] These are the men that the Lord assigned to divide the property for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

The Cities Assigned to the Levites (NUM 35:1-8)

[35:1] In the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho the Lord said to Moses,

[35:2] “Tell the Israelites that from the property they receive they must give the Levites some cities to live in and pasture land around the cities.

[35:3] These cities will belong to the Levites, and they will live there. The pasture land will be for their cattle and all their other animals.

[35:4] The pasture land is to extend outward from the city walls five hundred yards in each direction,

[35:5] so that there is a square area measuring one thousand yards on each side, with the city in the middle.

[35:6] You are to give the Levites six cities of refuge to which any of you can escape if you kill someone accidentally. In addition, give them forty-two other cities

[35:7] with their pasture land, making a total of forty-eight.

[35:8] The number of Levite cities in each tribe is to be determined according to the size of its territory.”

The Cities of Refuge (NUM 35:9-34)

[35:9] The Lord told Moses

[35:10] to say to the people of Israel: “When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land of Canaan,

[35:11] you are to choose cities of refuge to which any of you can escape if you kill someone accidentally.

[35:12] There you will be safe from the dead person's relative who seeks revenge. No one accused of manslaughter is to be put to death without a public trial.

[35:13] Choose six cities,

[35:14] three east of the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan.

[35:15] These will serve as cities of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners who are temporary or permanent residents. Anyone who kills someone accidentally can escape to one of them.

[35:19] The dead person's nearest relative has the responsibility for putting the murderer to death. When he finds you, he is to kill you.

[35:20] “If you hate someone and kill him by pushing him down or by throwing something at him

[35:21] or by striking him with your fist, you are guilty of murder and are to be put to death. The dead person's nearest relative has the responsibility for putting the murderer to death. When he finds you, he is to kill you.

[35:22] “But suppose you accidentally kill someone you do not hate, whether by pushing him down or by throwing something at him.

[35:23] Or suppose that, without looking, you throw a stone that kills someone whom you did not intend to hurt and who was not your enemy.

[35:24] In such cases the community shall judge in your favor and not in favor of the dead person's relative who is seeking revenge.

[35:25] You are guilty only of manslaughter, and the community is to rescue you from the dead person's relative, and they are to return you to the city of refuge to which you had escaped. You must live there until the death of the man who is then High Priest.

[35:26] If you leave the city of refuge to which you have escaped

[35:27] and if the dead person's relative finds you and kills you, this act of revenge is not murder.

[35:28] Any of you guilty of manslaughter must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest, but after that you may return home.

[35:29] These rules apply to you and your descendants wherever you may live.

[35:30] “Those accused of murder may be found guilty and put to death only on the evidence of two or more witnesses; the evidence of one witness is not sufficient to support an accusation of murder.

[35:31] Murderers must be put to death. They cannot escape this penalty by the payment of money.

[35:32] If they have fled to a city of refuge, do not allow them to make a payment in order to return home before the death of the High Priest.

[35:33] If you did this, you would defile the land where you are living. Murder defiles the land, and except by the death of the murderer there is no way to perform the ritual of purification for the land where someone has been murdered.

[35:34] Do not defile the land where you are living, because I am the Lord and I live among the people of Israel.”

The Inheritance of Married Women (NUM 36:1-13)

[36:1] The heads of the families in the clan of Gilead, the son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh son of Joseph, went to Moses and the other leaders.

[36:2] They said, “The Lord commanded you to distribute the land to the people of Israel by drawing lots. He also commanded you to give the property of our relative Zelophehad to his daughters.

[36:3] But remember, if they marry men of another tribe, their property will then belong to that tribe, and the total allotted to us will be reduced.

[36:4] In the Year of Restoration, when all property that has been sold is restored to its original owners, the property of Zelophehad's daughters will be permanently added to the tribe into which they marry and will be lost to our tribe.”

[36:5] So Moses gave the people of Israel the following command from the Lord. He said, “What the tribe of Manasseh says is right,

[36:6] and so the Lord says that the daughters of Zelophehad are free to marry anyone they wish but only within their own tribe.

[36:7] The property of every Israelite will remain attached to his tribe.

[36:8] Every woman who inherits property in an Israelite tribe must marry a man belonging to that tribe. In this way all Israelites will inherit the property of their ancestors,

[36:9] and the property will not pass from one tribe to another. Each tribe will continue to possess its own property.”

[36:12] They married within the clans of the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their property remained in their father's tribe.

[36:13] These are the rules and regulations that the Lord gave the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.

Introduction (DEU 1:1-8)

[1:1] In this book are the words that Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were in the Jordan Valley near Suph, between the town of Paran on one side and the towns of Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other. (

[1:2] It takes eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea by way of the hill country of Edom.)

[1:3] On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year after they had left Egypt, Moses told the people everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them.

[1:4] This was after the Lord had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in the town of Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in the towns of Ashtaroth and Edrei.

[1:5] It was while the people were east of the Jordan in the territory of Moab that Moses began to explain God's laws and teachings. He said,

[1:6] “When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

[1:7] Break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the surrounding regions—to the Jordan Valley, to the hill country and the lowlands, to the southern region, and to the Mediterranean coast. Go to the land of Canaan and on beyond the Lebanon Mountains as far as the great Euphrates River.

[1:8] All of this is the land which I, the Lord, promised to give to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants. Go and occupy it.’”

Moses Appoints Judges (DEU 1:9-18)

[1:9] Moses said to the people, “While we were still at Mount Sinai, I told you, ‘The responsibility for leading you is too much for me. I can't do it alone.

[1:10] The Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

[1:11] May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you increase a thousand times more and make you prosperous, as he promised!

[1:12] But how can I alone bear the heavy responsibility for settling your disputes?

[1:13] Choose some wise, understanding, and experienced men from each tribe, and I will put them in charge of you.’

[1:14] And you agreed that this was a good thing to do.

[1:15] So I took the wise and experienced leaders you chose from your tribes, and I placed them in charge of you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten. I also appointed other officials throughout the tribes.

[1:16] “At that time I instructed them, ‘Listen to the disputes that come up among your people. Judge every dispute fairly, whether it concerns only your own people or involves foreigners who live among you.

[1:17] Show no partiality in your decisions; judge everyone on the same basis, no matter who they are. Do not be afraid of anyone, for the decisions you make come from God. If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me, and I will decide it.’

[1:18] At the same time I gave you instructions for everything else you were to do.

The Spies Are Sent Out from Kadesh Barnea (DEU 1:19-33)

[1:19] “We did what the Lord our God commanded us. We left Mount Sinai and went through that vast and fearful desert on the way to the hill country of the Amorites. When we reached Kadesh Barnea,

[1:22] “But you came to me and said, ‘Let's send men ahead of us to spy out the land, so that they can tell us the best route to take and what kind of cities are there.’

[1:23] “That seemed like a good thing to do, so I selected twelve men, one from each tribe.

[1:24] They went into the hill country as far as Eshcol Valley and explored it.

[1:25] They brought us back some fruit they found there, and reported that the land which the Lord our God was giving us was very fertile.

[1:26] “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God, and you would not enter the land.

[1:27] You grumbled to one another: ‘The Lord hates us. He brought us out of Egypt just to hand us over to these Amorites, so that they could kill us.

[1:28] Why should we go there? We are afraid. The men we sent tell us that the people there are stronger and taller than we are, and that they live in cities with walls that reach the sky. They saw giants there!’

[1:29] “But I told you, ‘Don't be afraid of those people.

[1:30] The Lord your God will lead you, and he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt

[1:31] and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely all the way to this place, just as a father would carry his son.’

[1:32] But in spite of what I said, you still would not trust the Lord,

[1:33] even though he always went ahead of you to find a place for you to camp. To show you the way, he went in front of you in a pillar of fire by night and in a pillar of cloud by day.

The Lord Punishes Israel (DEU 1:34-45)

[1:34] “The Lord heard your complaints and became angry, and so he solemnly declared,

[1:35] ‘Not one of you from this evil generation will enter the fertile land that I promised to give your ancestors.

[1:36] Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will enter it. He has remained faithful to me, and I will give him and his descendants the land that he has explored.’

[1:37] Because of you the Lord also became angry with me and said, ‘Not even you, Moses, will enter the land.

[1:38] But strengthen the determination of your helper, Joshua son of Nun. He will lead Israel to occupy the land.’

[1:39] “Then the Lord said to all of us, ‘Your children, who are still too young to know right from wrong, will enter the land—the children you said would be seized by your enemies. I will give the land to them, and they will occupy it.

[1:40] But as for you people, turn around and go back into the desert on the road to the Gulf of Aqaba.’

[1:41] “You replied, ‘Moses, we have sinned against the Lord. But now we will attack, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ Then each one of you got ready to fight, thinking it would be easy to invade the hill country.

[1:42] “But the Lord said to me, ‘Warn them not to attack, for I will not be with them, and their enemies will defeat them.’

[1:43] I told you what the Lord had said, but you paid no attention. You rebelled against him, and in your pride you marched into the hill country.

[1:44] Then the Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased you as far as Hormah and defeated you there in the hill country of Edom.

[1:45] So you cried out to the Lord for help, but he would not listen to you or pay any attention to you.

The Years in the Desert (DEU 1:46-2:25)

[1:46] “So then, after we had stayed at Kadesh for a long time,

[2:1] we finally turned and went into the desert, on the road to the Gulf of Aqaba, as the Lord had commanded, and we spent a long time wandering about in the hill country of Edom.

[2:2] “Then the Lord told me

[2:3] that we had spent enough time wandering about in those hills and that we should go north.

[2:4] He told me to give you the following instructions: ‘You are about to go through the hill country of Edom, the territory of your distant relatives, the descendants of Esau. They will be afraid of you,

[2:5] but you must not start a war with them, because I am not going to give you so much as a square foot of their land. I have given Edom to Esau's descendants.

[2:6] You may buy food and water from them.’

[2:7] “Remember how the Lord your God has blessed you in everything that you have done. He has taken care of you as you wandered through this vast desert. He has been with you these forty years, and you have had everything you needed.

[2:8] “So we moved on and left the road that goes from the towns of Elath and Eziongeber to the Dead Sea, and we turned northeast toward Moab.

[2:9] The Lord said to me, ‘Don't trouble the people of Moab, the descendants of Lot, or start a war against them. I have given them the city of Ar, and I am not going to give you any of their land.’” (

[2:10] A mighty race of giants called the Emim used to live in Ar. They were as tall as the Anakim, another race of giants.

[2:11] Like the Anakim they were also known as Rephaim; but the Moabites called them Emim.

[2:12] The Horites used to live in Edom, but the descendants of Esau chased them out, destroyed their nation, and settled there themselves, just as the Israelites later chased their enemies out of the land that the Lord gave them.)

[2:13] “Then we crossed the Zered River as the Lord told us to do.

[2:14] This was thirty-eight years after we had left Kadesh Barnea. All the fighting men of that generation had died, as the Lord had said they would.

[2:15] The Lord kept on opposing them until he had destroyed them all.

[2:16] “After they had all died,

[2:17] the Lord said to us,

[2:18] ‘Today you are to pass through the territory of Moab by way of Ar.

[2:19] You will then be near the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. Don't trouble them or start a war against them, because I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given them.’” (

[2:20] This territory is also known as the land of the Rephaim, the name of the people who used to live there; the Ammonites called them Zamzummim.

[2:21] They were as tall as the Anakim. There were many of them, and they were a mighty race. But the Lord destroyed them, so that the Ammonites took over their land and settled there.

[2:22] The Lord had done the same thing for the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in the hill country of Edom. He destroyed the Horites, so that the Edomites took over their land and settled there, where they still live.

[2:23] The land along the Mediterranean coast had been settled by people from the island of Crete. They had destroyed the Avvim, the original inhabitants, and had taken over all their land as far south as the city of Gaza.)

[2:24] “After we had passed through Moab, the Lord told us, ‘Now, start out and cross the Arnon River. I am placing in your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, along with his land. Attack him, and begin occupying his land.

[2:25] From today on I will make people everywhere afraid of you. Everyone will tremble with fear at the mention of your name.’