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.
1 Membo muka omu na oohapu ndhoka Moses e dhi lombwele Aaisraeli, manga ye li mombuga kuuzilo waJordan. Oya li mesilu lyaJordan popepi naSuf, pokati komukunda Paran kombinga yimwe nomikunda Tofel, Laban, Hazerot naDi Sahab kombinga onkwawo. 2 (Otashi pula omasiku omulongo nalimwe okuza kuSinai nokuya kuKadesh Barnea mondjila yokoondundu dhomoshilongo Seir.) 3 Mesiku lyotango lyomwedhi omutimulongo nagumwe gwomumvo omutimilongone, Aaisraeli sho ya tembuka muEgipiti, Moses okwe ya hokololele ashihe shoka Omuwa e mu lombwele, e ya lombwele. 4 Shika osha ningwa Omuwa sho a sindi Sihon, omukwaniilwa gwAayamori, ngoka a li ta pangele moshilando Heshbon, naOg, omukwaniilwa gwaBaasha, ngoka a li ta pangele miilando Ashtarot naEdrei. 5 Kuuzilo waJordan moshilongo shaMoab Moses okwa tameke okufatulula oompango nomalongo gOmuwa.
Okwa ti: 6 “Manga twa li puSinai, Omuwa Kalunga ketu okwe tu lombwele ta ti: ‘Ethimbo ndyoka mwa kala pondundu ndjika, olya gwana. 7 Dhilukitheni po oontanda mu hume ko. Indeni koshilongo shokoondundu shAayamori nokomahala agehe ge shi kunduka — sigo esilu lyaJordan, koshilongo shokoondundu, kiikulundundu yoponyonga yadho, koshitopolwa shokuumbugantu nokomunkulofuta. Indeni kevi lyAakaanana nokombanda yoondundu dhaLibanon sigololo omulonga omunene Eufrat. 8 Ayihe mbika oyo evi ndyoka ngame Omuwa ndu uvaneke ndi li pe oohokulu Abraham, Isak naJakob nomaluvalo gawo. Indeni mu ke li lale.’ ”
Moses ta langeke aatokolihapu
(Eks. 18:13-27)9 Moses okwa lombwele aantu a ti: “Manga twa lyeni pondundu Sinai, onde mu lombwele nda tile: ‘Oshimpwiyu shoku mu wilika otashi hepeke ndje unene. Itandi vulu oku shi ihumbatela ongame awike. 10 Omuwa Kalunga keni okwe mu indjipaleke mu thike poonyothi dhokegulu. 11 Omuwa Kalunga koohokulu ne mu indjipaleke neyuvi ye e mu laleke nuuyamba, ngaashi u uvaneka! 12 Ihe otandi vulu ngiini ongame awike okuhumbata omutenge gwokuloteka oontamanana dheni? 13 Hogololeni aalumentu aanawino, aanandunge naasimani mezimo kehe, notandi ya langeke moku mu tonatela! 14 Omwa zimina kutya shika osho opala. 15 Onkee nda kutha aawiliki aanawino naasimani mboka mwa hogolola momazimo geni, nonde ya langeke ye mu tonatele. Yamwe oya ningi aatonateli yaantu eyuvi, yamwe oyethele, yamwe oyomilongo ntano nayamwe oyomulongo. Onda langeke ishewe aakuluntu yalwe momazimo agehe.’
16 “Pethimbo ndyoka onda londodha aatokolihapu yeni nda ti: ‘Pulakeneni nawa iihokolola mbyoka tayi tukuka maakweni. Iihokolola ayihe yi panguleni pauyuuki, nonando nayi kale yaakweni yomekota nenge yaakwiilongo mboka ya kala mokati keni. 17 Momatokolo geni inamu kala nando ondhipi; ayehe ya tokoleni pamuthika gumwe, nando naa kale oyo oolye yalye. Inamu tila nando olye, oshoka omatokolo ngoka tamu tokola, oga za kuKalunga. Ngele ope na shoka tashi mu nyenge, shi eteni kungame, notandi ke shi utha.’ 18 Pethimbo tuu ndyoka onde mu lombwelele ashihe shoka mu na oku shi ninga.”
Oondaadhi dha za kuKadesh Barnea
(Num. 13:1-33)19 “Otwa gwanitha shoka Omuwa Kalunga ketu e tu lombwele. Otwa thigi po ondundu Sinai e tatu ka taaguluka ombuga ndjoka onene nontilithi mondjila yetu okuya koshilongo shokoondundu shAayamori. Sho twa thiki muKadesh Barnea, 20-21 onda tile: ‘Otamu yi koshilongo shokoondundu shAayamori, shoka Omuwa Kalunga ketu, Kalunga kootatekulu te shi tu pe. Taleni, osho shiyaka. Indeni mu ke shi lale, ngaashi a tile. Inamu tenguka nenge mu kukuke kuumbanda.’
22 “Ihe ne omwe ya kungame tamu ti: ‘Tumii ko aalumentu, ya ka ndaadhe evi, opo ye ye ye tu lombwele kutya natu ende ondjila yini niilando mbyoka yi li ko oya tya ngiini.’
23 “Osha li sho opala okuningwa, onkee nda hogololele aalumentu omulongo nayaali, gumwe mezimo kehe. 24 Oya yi moshilongo shokoondundu sigololo esilu Eshkol e taye li konakona. 25 Sho ya galuka, oye tu etele iiyimati mbyoka ya adhele ko, noya hokolola kutya evi ndyoka Omuwa Kalunga ketu te li tu pe, ewanawa noonkondo.
26 “Ihe ne omwa tsu ondumbo noshipango shOmuwa Kalunga keni, noinamu ya we mevi ndyoka. 27 Ne omwa ngungutulilathana mwa ti: ‘Omuwa oku tu tonde. Okwe tu tembudha muEgipiti, opo e tu gandje miikaha yAayamori mbaka, opo ya wape ye tu dhipage. 28 Otatu yile ko we shike? Tse otwa tila ko. Aantu mboka twe ya tumine ko, oye tu hokololele kutya aantu yaahoka oya kola naaleeleka ye tu vule, noya kala miilando yi na omakuma ga tsa kegulu. Oya mwene ko nokuli aalefule!’
29 “Ihe ngame onda tile: ‘Inamu tila aantu mboka. 30 Omuwa Kalunga keni ote mu enditha, noye te ke mu kondjela, naanaa ngaashi mwe shi mono muEgipiti 31 nomombuga. Omwa mono, nkene e mu enditha nawa ondjila ayihe sigo okehala ndika, ngaashi yina ta kwiinine omwana omumati.’ 32 Ihe nando ongeyi, ne inamu inekela Omuwa Kalunga keni, 33 ngoka e mu kwatele komeho, mu mone eha mpoka tamu yungu oontanda. Okwe mu ulukile ondjila te mu tetekelele moshikogo shomulilo uusiku noshomuzile omutenya.”
Omuwa ta geele Israel
(Num. 14:20-45)34 “Omuwa oku uvu omangungutulo geni e ta geye e ta gana ta ti: 35 ‘Kape na nando omuntu gumwe gwomoluvalo nduka oluwinayi ta ka thika mevi ndyoka ewanawa ndu uvaneke oku li pa oohokulu. 36 Kaleb kaJefunne oye awike ta ka ya mo. Okwa li i inekela ndje. Otandi mu pe noluvalo lwe evi ndyoka e ke li ndaadhele.’ 37 Molweni Omuwa okwa geele ndje e ta ti: ‘Nangoye wo ito ka thika mo mevi ndyoka. 38 Ihe koleka eutho lyomukwathi gwoye, Josua yaNun. Oye ta ka wilika Israel okulala oshilongo.’
39 “Omuwa okwe tu lombwele aluhe ta ti: ‘Aana yeni mboka aashona nokaye shi manga okuyoolola uuwanawa muuwinayi, oyo taa ka thika mo mevi ndyoka, nando omwa ti, otaa ka kwatwa po kaatondi yeni. Otandi ke ya pa oshilongo, notaye ke shi lala. 40 Ihe ne shuneni mu ye kombuga mondjila yu uka kEkololo lyaAkaba.’
41 “Omwa yamukulile mwa ti: ‘Moses, tse otwa yono kOmuwa. Ihe ngashingeyi tse otatu ka homona, naanaa ngaashi Omuwa Kalunga ketu e tu lombwele.’ Noshaa ngoka gwomune okwa li i ilongekidhila olugodhi nota dhiladhila kutya oshipu okutondokela moshilongo shokoondundu.
42 “Ihe Omuwa okwa lombwele ndje a ti: ‘Ya londodha yaa homone, oshoka itandi kala pamwe nayo, naatondi yawo otaye ya sindi.’ 43 Onde mu hokololele shoka Omuwa a ti, ihe ne inamu pupa ko. Omwa tsu ondumbo naye, nomuuntsa weni omwa matukile oshilongo shokoondundu. 44 Nena Aayamori mboka ya li moondundu, oye ya ye mu kondjithe ya fa ehunga lyoonyushi. Oye mu tidha sigo oHorma e taye mu dhengele moshilongo shokoondundu dhaEdom. 45 One nomwa kugile Omuwa onkugo, ihe okwi ipwililike ye ine mu pulakena.”
Omimvo dhomombuga
46 “Ano sho twa kala muKadesh ethimbo ele,
