Reminder of the Events at Kadesh-Barnea: Twelve Spies

19And we departed from Horeb, and came over the great and terrible wilderness, which you had seen enough on your way to the mountains of the Amorites, all as the Lord our God had commanded us, and came to Kadesh-barnea. 20Then I said to you, "Behold, we have come to the mountainous country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21Let it be known to you that the LORD your God has given this country to you. Go therefore and take possession of it, in fulfillment of the promise which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gave you. Do not be afraid and do not lose heart!" 22You then came to me and said that you would first like to send a few men to reconnoitre the country and tell me about the path we would have to go and the cities we would approach. 23I found this thought reasonable, and I selected twelve men, one from each tribe. 24They set out on their journey, walked through the mountains to the valley of Eshkol and examined it. 25Our messengers took some of the fruits of that country and brought them with them, and in their account of what they had seen, they said: "The land that the LORD our God will give us is beautiful!"

26You, however, did not want to make the journey, rebelled against the command of the Lord your God, 27 and grumbled in your tents, "The Lord hates us. He brought us out of Egypt to throw us to the Amorites to be destroyed. 28How can we go there? We, having heard the story of our brethren who went to see that land, are afraid of those people, for they are both stronger and higher than we; The cities there are huge, with fortifications reaching to the skies. And they saw the descendants of Anak in that country."

29I tried to dispel your fears: "Do not be afraid of them! 30The LORD your God is going ahead and will fight for you again, as he did once in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and then in this wilderness, you saw for yourselves how he carried you, how a father carries a child, and so it was all along your way until you came here." 32Yet you have not trusted in the LORD your God, 33 Who has always and everywhere gone before you, seeking places for your encampments, and showing you the way, by night by fire, and by day by cloud.

34 When the Lord heard your complaints,[1168] he was angry and swore: 35 "Not one of these people, of this wicked generation, will see the beautiful land which I swore to their forefathers. 36Not one, except Caleb the son of Efunneh. He will see her. To him and to his descendants I will give the land on which he has already passed once; I will give it to him, and he is infinitely devoted to Me[1169]."

37And the Lord is angry with me because of you. "You won't enter that country either," He said. 38But he who serves with you now, Joshua, will enter it. Sustain him in his determination, for he must see to it that Israel inherits the land by divine design. 39With him, Jesus, will go your children, for whom you have lamented that they will become the spoils of war. Your sons, who yet know neither good nor evil, will enter this land. I will give it to them, and they will possess it. 40But turn and go into the wilderness by the road that leads to the Red Sea."

41 Then you spoke, "We have sinned against the Lord! But now we will go and fight as the Lord our God has commanded us!" 42But the Lord commanded me to tell you, "Do not go up into the mountains, do not fight there, for I am not with you, you will be defeated by your enemies." 43 I have delivered to you the will of the Lord, but you have not hearkened: you have rebelled against his commandment, and thinking of yourselves, you have gone into the mountains. 44But the Amorites who lived in the mountains came out against you; they pursued you like a disturbed swarm of bees; and having inflicted a crushing defeat on you, they drove you through Seir as far as Hormah. 45When you returned in shame, weeping, you cried out to the Lord. but He did not listen to you, He did not heed your cries[1170].

46So you had to stay a long time in Kadesh, all the time you spent there.

Narrative of the Protracted Wanderings at Mount Seir

2 And when we turned back and went into the wilderness, on the road to the Red Sea, as the Lord had commanded me, we had a long, long journey round about[1171] the mountains of Seir. 2 Until the Lord said to me, 3, "Stop walking around these mountains. Turn north! 4And give the people this command: "You will have to pass through the land of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who are now living in Seir. And they will be afraid of you, but you are strict that you do not have any conflicts with them. I will not give you an inch of their land in the hill country of Seir, which I gave to Esau and his descendants. 6For the water and food that you take from them, you shall always pay in silver, 7for the Lord your God[1172]a has blessed all your labor and has taken care[1173] of you as you pass through this vast wilderness. The Lord your God was with you forty years, and therefore you lacked nothing."

8And so we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who lived in the mountainous country of Seir, and by the way of Araba,1174 we passed, passed Elat and Ezion-Haver,[1175] and then came to the road that led to the wilderness of Moab. 9There again the Lord admonished me: "Do not quarrel with the Moabites, but avoid anything that might lead to war with them, for I have given all the land of Ar[1176] to the possession of the descendants of Lot, and nothing will ever be yours there."

10(In these lands once lived the Emei, a strong and numerous people, all as one lofty, like the descendants of Anak. 11 Like the descendants of Anak, they were considered Rephaim,1177 and the Moabites called them Emei. 12 In Seir there used to be the Choreans. But in time they were driven out by the descendants of Esau, who raided the people, destroyed them, and settled there themselves, as did the children of Israel in the land which the Lord had given them.)

13"It is time for you to go up and pass through the valley of Zehred," said the Lord. And we crossed that valley. 14From Kadesh-Barnea to this crossing of the Zered we walked thirty-eight years. By this time, there was not one of us left alive from a whole generation of men capable of war, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15The hand of the Lord made itself known to them until he had driven them all out of the camp.

Reminder of the Meeting with the Ammonites and Kings Og and Shechon