The Final Speeches of Moses
1-5 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 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 to Kadesh-Barnea by way of the Mount Seir Road, these speeches were not made until 40 years after Israel left Egypt.
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, Moses began explaining those laws by saying:
6 People of Israel, when we were in our camp at Mount Sinai, 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, 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 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 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 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, and some of them are Anakim. 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 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 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.
34 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 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 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 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 Road.
ǂGaeǂguiǂgās
1 Nē ǂkhanis ǃnâ di ge Moseb ge hoaraga Israelǁîn ǃoa Jordanǃāb di aiǂoasǀkhāb ai ǁgoe ǃgaroǃhūb ǃnâ ǃhoa mîde xoamâisa. ǁÎn ge Jordanǃgoaǃnāb Sufs ǃoagu, ǀgui ǀkhāb ai Parans tsî nau ǀkhāb ai Tofels, Labans, Haserots tsî Disahabs tsîdi ǁaegu ǁgoeb tawa ge hâ i. 2 (Sinaiǃhomma xu ǃhomxa ǃhūb Edommi dib ǃnâ-u Kades-Barneas ǁga ǃgûs ge disiǀguiǀa tsēdi ǀguide gere ū.) 3 Moseb ge ǂguro tsēs disiǀguiǀaǁî ǁkhâb dis ai, hakadisiǁî kurib ǃnâ, Israelǁîn ge Egipteba xu ǃnoraǃnorahes khaoǃgâ ǁîna ǃKhūb ge mîmā bi xūn hoana ge mîba. 4 Nēs ge Moseb ge Amorǁîn di gao-aob, Sihonni Hesbons dib tsî gao-aob Ogi Basans dib, Astarots tsî Edreis tsîra ai gere hâb tsîkha ǃkhamdans khaoǃgâsa. 5 Jordanǃāb di aiǂoasǀkhāb, Moab ǀkharib ǃnân Israelǁîna hâ hîa ge is ge Moseb ge ǁîna Elob mîmādi tsî ǁkhāǁkhādi tsîde ǁguiǃābatsoatsoasa.
ǁÎb ge ge mî: 6 “Sinaiǃhommi tawa da ge hâ i, ob ge ǃKhūba sada ǃoa ge mî: ‘ǂÂu hâ kōse du ge nē ǃhommi tawa go hâ. 7 Sadu hâǃkhaiba khôakhâi, î aisǀkhāb ǁga ǃgû. Amorǁîn di ǃhomxa ǃhūb tsî ǁîb ǂnamipe ǁgoe ǀkharigu ǃoa: Jordanǃgoaǃnāb ǃoa, ǃhomxa ǃhūb tsî ǃgoaǃnāb ǃoa, ǃkhawagasǀkhāb di ǀkharib tsî Mediteraneahuri-ammi kōse. Nēb ge Kanaanǃhūba, Libanonǃhomgu nau ǀkhāba xu Eufratǃāb kōse ra sība. 8 Nē ǃkhaigu hoagab ge ǃKhūba sadu aboxagu Abrahammi, Isaki tsî Jakob hâgu tsî ǁîgu suriba māsa ge mîmâiba. ǃGû, î nē ǃhūba ūbasen tsî sī ǁanǃnâ.’ ”
Moseb ge ǀgoraǃgâ-aoga ra ǁgaumâi
(Eksodus 18:13-27)9 Moseb ge khoena ge mîba: “Sinaiǃhommi tawa da hâ hîa ta ge ge mîba du: ‘Sado ǂgaeǂguis di ǃereams ge a kai, tsî ta ge ǁnāsa ǀguri a dīǁoa. 10 ǃKhūb sadu Elob ge sado ǀhommi di ǀgamiron a ǂgui khami ge ǂguiǂgui. 11 Ab ǃKhūb sadu aboxagu di Eloba ǀguiǀoadisi ǃnādi xa ǃnāsase ǂguiǂgui du tsî ǁîb ge mîmâise ǀkhae du! 12 Xawe mâti ta sadu ǁhōga ǀgoraǃgâs ǃaroma ǀguri ǃereamsa nî tani? 13 Mâ ǃhaos hoasa xu gā-ai, ǁnâuǃāxa tsî ǂansa ūhâ aoga ǁhûi, î ta ǁîga sadu ǂama ǃereamsa mā.’ 14 Tsî sadu ge nēs xa ge ǃgâibahe. 15 ǁNā-amaga ta ge gā-ai tsî ǂansa ūhâ aogu, sadu ǃhaode xu du ge ǁhûiga, sadu ǂama ǃereamsa ge mā. ǀNîgu ge ǀoadisi khoen ai, ǀnîga kaidisi khoen ai, ǀnîga korodisi khoen ai tsî ǀnîga disi khoen ǂama ǃereamsa ge ūhâ i. ǀNîga ta ge ǃhaodi ī khami xoa-aose ge ǂgaimâi.
16 “ǁNā ǁaeb ai ta ge ǀgoraǃgâ-aoga ge mîmā: ‘Sadu khoen ǁaegu hâ ǂnoagude ǃgâ re. Hoa ǂnoagu-aina ǂhanu-aise ǀgoraǃgâ, nēsi i ga sago khoen ǂûna xu hâs tamas ka io ǃhaokhoen, sadu ǁaegu ǁan hâna xu hâ xawe. 17 Tā sago ǀgoraǃgâdi ǃnâ ǀkhāǁhûi; mâ-i hoa-e ǀguitikōse ǀgoraǃgâ, tari-i ǀgui-i ka xawe. Tā khoe-i xare-e ǃao, sago ra ū mîǁguigu Eloba xu ra hā xuige. Xawe i ga ǁhō-e ǃgomba go, o tita tawa hā-ū, î ta tita mîǁguisa dī.’ 18 ǁNā ǁaeb ǁkhāb ai ta ge taren hoana go nî dīsa ge mîmā go.
ǀHôagao ǃkhē-aogu ge ra sîhe
(Numeri 13:1-33)19 “ǃKhūb sada Elob ge mîmā da khami dī tsî da ge Sinaiǃhomma xu kai tsî ǃaoǃaosa ǃgaroǃhūb ǃnâ-u Amorǁîn di ǃhomxa ǃhūb ǁga ge ǃgû. Kades-Barneas tawa da ge sī, 20-21 o ta ge ge mî: ‘Amorǁîn di ǃhomxa ǃhūb, ǃKhūb sada Elob, sada aboxagu di Elob ge mā dab tawa da ge go hā. Mû, ǁnāb ge ǁîba. ǁÎb ge mîmā khami ǁîba ūbasen î ǁanǃnâ. Tā ǃao tamas ka io îganǀgē.’
22 “Xawe du ge sado tita tawa hā tsî ge mî: ‘A da aoga sada aiǃâ sî, ǃhūba nî sī ǃkhēǂuiǃnâse, î gu mâb a ǂhanu dao ǁîba da nî ǁhûise tsî mâti-ī ǃādi ǁnāpa hâs tsîna sī ǀhôagaose ôaǃnâǂui.’
23 “Tita ge ǁnā aoǁguib xa ǃgâibahe tsî ǁnā-amaga disiǀgamǀa aoga, ǀguiba mâ ǃhaos hoasa xu ge ǁhûiǂui. 24 ǁÎgu ge ǃhomxa ǃhūb ǃoa ǃgûǃapa tsî Eskolǃgoaǃnāb tawa sī tsî ǁîba ge ǃkhēǂuiǃnâ. 25 ǁÎgu ge ǀnî ǂûn ǁnā ǃhūb din ǀkha oahā tsî ǃKhūb sada Elob ge ǂûtanixa ǃhūba mā da ǃkhaisa ge ǃnuri.
26 “Xawe go ge sago ǃKhūb sago Elob di mîmās ǃoagu khâikhâisen, tsî ǁnā ǃhūb ǃnâ ǂgâ ǂgao tama ge i. 27 Sadu tentomdi ǃnâ du ge ǂkhîoǃnâ tsî gere mîǀîgu: ‘ǃKhūb ge sadab a ǃhuisa xui-ao, sada Egipteba xu ǂgaeǂguiǂui tsî Amorǁîn ǃomǁae, ǁîn xa da nî hîkākāhese ge māǁnâ. 28 Mâǀî da kha ra ǃgû? Sida ge ra ǃao. Aogu hîa da ge sîgu ge ǁnāpa hâ khoen a sida xa ǀgaisa tsî kaikara tsîn ǁîna ǀhommi kōse ǀgapi ǂnubiǂgoagu ǀkha omǂnamisa ǃādi ǃnâ ra hâsa ge mîba da. ǁÎgu ge Anakǁîn suriba xu hâ kaikara khoen tsîna ǁnāpa ge mû!’
29 “Xawe ta ge ge mî: ‘Tā ǁnā khoen xa ǃao tamas ka io ǃhuri. 30 ǃKhūb sadu Elob ge Egipteb ǃnâb ge sadu mûǁae dī khami, sadu aiǃâ ǃgû tsî nî ǃkhamba du. 31 ǁKhāti du ge ǃgaroǃhūb ǃnâ ge mû, mâ ǀgaus aib ǃKhūb sadu Eloba nē ǃkhais kōse sâu du tsî ge tani dusa, ǁgûb ra ǁîb di ǀgôaba sâu tsî tani khami.’ 32 Xawe tare-i ǀgui-e ta ga mî, xawe du kom ǃKhūb sadu Eloba ǂgomǃgâ tama ge i, 33 ǁîb gere hoaǁae sadu aiǃâ ǃgû tsî hâǃkhaiba du nî ǂnaumâi-ai ǃkhaiba sī ǂhomiba du hîa. Sado daoba ǁgaus ǃaromab ge ǃKhūba sadu aiǃâ, tsēa kai ǃâus ǀkha tsî tsuxub ǃnâ khau ra ǀaes ǀkha gere ǂgaeǂgui du.
ǃKhūb ge Israelǁîna ra ǁkhara
(Numeri 14:20-45)34 “ǃKhūb ge sadu ǂkhîoǃnâsibab ge ǁnâu, o ǁaixa tsî ge mîmâi: 35 ‘ǀGui-i sadu di-i, nē ǂkhaba suriba xu hâ-i tsîn ge sadu aboxaga ta ge mîmâiba ǂûtanixa ǃhūb ǃnâ ǂgâ tide. 36 Jefuneb ôab, Kaleb ǀguib ge ǁnā ǃhūb ǃnâ nî ǂgâ. ǁÎb ge ǂgomǂgomsa i xui-ao ta ge ǁîb tsî ǁîb di surib tsîna ǁîb ge sī mû ǃhūǃâsa nî mā.’ 37 Sadu ǃaromas ge ǃKhūb ge tita tsîn ǀkha ǁaixa tsî mîsa: ‘Mosetse, sats tsîn ge Kanaanǃhūba ǂgâǃnâ tide. 38 Xawe sa hui-aob, Nunni ôab, Josuab ge ǁnāpa nî ǂgâ. ǁÎb ge Israelǁaesa Kanaanǃhūban nî sī ūbasen tsî ǁanǃnâse nî ǂgaeǂguiǂgâ, ǁnā-amagats ge ǁîba ǁnās ǃoa nî ǂgaoǂgaoǃnâ.’
39 “Ob ge ǃKhūba hoada ǃoa ge mî: ‘Sadu ǀgôaron hîa noxopa ǃgâi-i tsî tsū-i ǁaegu ǀgorasa a dī ǁoan hoan, sadu khākhoen xa nî ǃkhōsis ǃnâ ūhe, ti du gere mîn, ge ǁnā ǃhūb ǃnâ nî ǂgâ. Tita ge ǁîna ǁnā ǃhūba nî mā tsîn ge ǁîna ǁîba nî ūbasen. 40 Xawe sado dabasen î, du ǃgaroǃhūb ǃnâ-u ǀApahurib ǀkhāb ǁga ǃgû.’
41 “Sadu ge ge ǃeream: ‘Mosetse, ǃKhūb ǃoagu da ge go ǁore! Xawe da ge ǃgûǂoa tsî sida ǃKhūb tsî Elob ge mîmā da khami nî sī ǃkham.’ Mâ khoe-i hoa-i ge ǁâtanisen tsî supuse i ǃhomxa ǃhūba nî ǁnāǂam ti ge ǂâi.
42 “Xaweb ge ǃKhūba tita ǃoa ge mî: ‘ǁÎna mîba în tā ǃkhamǃgû, tita ǁîn tawa hâ tide, tsîn ǁîn khākhoen xa nî danhe xuige.’ 43 ǃKhūb ge mî ǀgauba ta ge ge mîba du, xawe du ge ǁnâu ǂgao tama i, tsî ǃKhūb di mîmās ǃoagu khâikhâisen tsî ǃhomxa ǃhūb ǁga ge ǃgû. 44 Xawen ge Amorǁîn ǃhomxa ǃhūb ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ ina ǃhabun di ǂhoms khami sado ǂnû-ai tsî Edomsa xu Hormas kōse sauruǀgaruǀgaru tsî ge hîkākā. 45 ǁNās khaoǃgâ du ge ǃKhūb ǃoa, huib ǃaroma ge ǂgai, xaweb ge ǁîba ǃgâ du ǂgao tama i tsî ǂâi-i tsîna sadu ai ǂnûi tama ge i.
Kadesa xu Arnons kōse
46 “ǁNā ǀgaub ai da ge gaxu ǁaeba Kades tawa ge hâ.”
