1Ko nga kupu enei i korero ai a Mohi ki a Iharaira katoa i tenei taha o Horano, i te koraha, i te mania, i te ritenga atu o Tupu, i waenganui o Parana, o Topera, o Rapana, o Hateroto, o Rihahapa. 2Kia kotahi tekau ma tahi nga ra e haere atu ana i Horepa, ki te tika na maunga Heira, ka tae ai ki Kareheparena. 3No te wha tekau o nga tau, no te tekau ma tahi o nga marama, no te ra tuatahi o te marama, ka korerotia e Mohi ki nga tama a Iharaira nga mea katoa i ako ai a Ihowa ki a ia mo ratou; 4I muri i tana patunga i a Hihona kingi o nga Amori, i noho ra i Hehepona, i a Oka hoki kingi o Pahana, i noho ra i Ahataroto, i Eterei. 5I timata a Mohi i tenei taha o Horano, i te whenua o Moapa, te kauwhau i tenei ture: i mea ia, 6I korero mai a Ihowa, to tatou Atua, ki a tatou i Horepa, i mea, Ka roa to koutou noho ki tenei maunga: 7Anga atu, hapainga atu, haere ki te maunga o nga Amori, ki nga wahi katoa hoki e tata ana ki reira, o te mania, o nga pukepuke, o te raorao, o te tonga, o te tahatika ano o te moana, ki te whenua o nga Kanaani, ki Repanona, ki te awa nui ano, ki te awa, ki Uparati. 8Nana, kua tukua atu nei e ahau te whenua ki to koutou aroaro: haere ki roto, tangohia te whenua i oati ai a Ihowa ki o koutou matua, ki a Aperahama, ki a Ihaka, ki a Hakopa kia hoatu mo ratou, mo to ratou uri hoki i muri i a ratou. 9I korero ano ahau ki a koutou i taua wa, i mea, E kore e ahei ko ahau anake hei pikau i a koutou: 10Kua whakanui a Ihowa, to koutou Atua, i a koutou, a tenei koutou te rite nei inaianei ki nga whetu o te rangi te tini. 11Ma Ihowa, ma te Atua o o koutou matua, e tapiri ano a muri i a koutou ki nga mano tini atu i a koutou e noho nei, mana koutou e manaaki, e pera ano me tana i korero ai ki a koutou! 12Me pehea e taea ai e ahau anake ta koutou whakararu, to koutou whakataimaha, me ta koutou ngangau? 13Whakaritea mai e koutou etahi tangata tupato, whai whakaaro, e mohiotia ana e o koutou iwi, a maku ratou e mea hei upoko mo koutou. 14Na ka utu koutou ki ahau, ka mea, He mea pai tau e ki mai na kia meatia. 15Na ka tango ahau i nga upoko o o koutou iwi, i nga mea whakaaro, e mohiotia ana, a meatia iho ratou e ahau hei upoko mo koutou, hei rangatira mo nga mano, hei rangatira mo nga rau, hei rangatira mo nga rima tekau, hei rangatira mo nga tekau, hei kaiwhakahauhau hoki mo o koutou iwi. 16I ki ano ahau i taua wa ki o koutou kaiwhakawa, i mea, Whakarangona nga kupu a o koutou teina, a tetahi, a tetahi, kia tika te whakawa mo te tangata, mo tona teina, mo te tangata ke hoki e noho ana i a ia. 17Kei whakaaro ki te kanohi ina whakawa, kia rite ta koutou whakarongo ki te iti, ki te rahi; kei wehi koutou i te kanohi tangata; no te mea na te Atua te whakawa; a, ko te mea e ngaro ana i a koutou, ka kawe mai ki ahau, a maku e whakarongo. 18A whakahaua ana e ahau i reira nga mea katoa e mahi ai koutou. 19A ka turia mai e tatou i Horepa, na haerea katoatia ana e tatou taua koraha nui, e wehingia ana, i kite ra koutou i te ara o te whenua maunga o nga Amori; i pera me ta Ihowa, me ta to tatou Atua, i ako mai ai ki a tatou; na ka tae atu ki Karehep arenea. 20Na ka mea ahau ki a koutou, Kua tae mai nei koutou ki te whenua maunga o nga Amori, ka homai nei e Ihowa, e to tatou Atua, ki a tatou. 21Nana, ka tukua nei te whenua e Ihowa, e tou Atua, ki tou aroaro: haere ki runga, tangohia, kia rite ai ki ta Ihowa, ki ta te Atua o ou matua, i ki ai ki a koe; kaua e wehi, kaua hoki e pawera. 22Na ka whakatata mai koutou katoa ki ahau, ka mea, Kia tono tatou i etahi ki mua i a tatou, a ko ratou hei titiro i to tatou whenua, hei whakahoki mai i te korero ki a tatou, mo te huarahi e haere ai tatou ki runga, mo nga pa hoki ka haere atu ne i tatou ki reira. 23A i pai ano taua kupu ki ahau: na ka tango ahau i etahi tangata kotahi tekau ma rua i roto i a koutou, tataki kotahi o tenei iwi, o tenei iwi. 24A ka tahuri ratou, ka piki ki te maunga, a ka tae ki te awaawa o Ehekora, ka tirotiro hoki a taua wahi. 25A ka tango ratou i etahi o nga hua o te whenua ki o ratou ringa, a maua ana ki raro, ki a tatou, i whakahoki ake ano ratou i te kupu ki a tatou, i mea, He pai te whenua ka homai nei e Ihowa, e to tatou Atua, ki a tatou. 26Heoi kihai koutou i pai ki te haere ki runga; na ka tutu ki te kupu a Ihowa, a to koutou Atua: 27A amuamu ana i roto i o koutou teneti, mea ana, He kino no Ihowa ki a tatou i whakaputaina mai ai tatou e ia i te whenua o Ihipa, kia hoatu ai tatou ki te ringa o nga Amori, kia huna ai tatou. 28Kia haere tatou ki runga ki hea? kua ngohe nei hoki o tatou ngakau i ta o tatou tuakana, e mea ra, He nunui te iwi, he roroa i a tatou; ko nga pa he nui, taiepa rawa a tutuki noa ki te rangi: i kite ano hoki matou i nga tama a nga Anakimi ki rei ra. 29Na ka mea ahau ki a koutou, Kei pawera, kei wehi i a ratou. 30Ko Ihowa, ko to koutou Atua, te haere nei i mua i a koutou, mana ta koutou pakanga; ka rite ki nga mea katoa i mea ai ia mo koutou ki to koutou aroaro i Ihipa; 31I te koraha ano, i kite ra koe i reira i ta Ihowa, i ta tou Atua wahanga i a koe, ano he tangata e waha ana i tana tamaiti, i te ara katoa i haere na koutou, a tae noa mai ki tenei wahi. 32I tenei mea ano, kihai koutou i whakapono ki a Ihowa, ki to koutou Atua, 33I haere ra i mua i a koutou i te ara, hei whakataki i tetahi wahi mo koutou, e tu ai o koutou teneti, i te po i roto i te ahi, hei whakaatu ki a koutou i te ara e haere ai koutou, a i roto i te kapua i te awatea. 34A ka rongo a Ihowa i o koutou reo e korero ana, na ka riri, ka oati, ka mea, 35E kore rawa tetahi o enei tangata o tenei whakatupuranga kino e kite i taua whenua pai i oati ai ahau kia hoatu ki o koutou matua, 36Heoi ano ko Karepe, ko te tama a Iepune, e kite ia; a ka hoatu e ahau ki a ia, ki ana tama hoki, te whenua i haerea e ia, mona i tino whai a Ihowa. 37A i riri ano a Ihowa ki ahau, mo koutou hoki, i mea mai, E kore ano kore e tae ki reira. 38Ko Hohua, ko te tama a Nunu, e tu ana i tou aroaro, e tae ia ki reira: whakatenatenangia ia; ta te mea mana a Iharaira e whakawhiwhi ki tera wahi. 39Na, ko a koutou potiki, i mea na koutou ka waiho hei parau, me a koutou tama kihai nei i mohio i taua ra ki te pai, ki te kino, e tae ratou ki reira, ka hoatu ano e ahau a reira ki a ratou, a e whiwhi ratou ki tera whenua. 40Ko koutou ia, tahuri atu, haere ki te koraha, na te huarahi ki te Moana Whero. 41Na ka utu koutou, ka mea mai ki ahau, Kua hara matou ki a Ihowa; ka haere matou ki runga, ki te whawhai, kia rite ai nga mea katoa i whakahau mai ai a Ihowa, to tatou Atua, ki a tatou. A whitikiria ano e koutou, e tera, e tera, ana mea mo te rir i, na ka mea koutou ki te piki ki te maunga. 42Katahi ka mea a Ihowa ki ahau, Mea atu ki a ratou, Kaua e haere, kaua ano e tu ki te riri; kahore hoki ahau i roto i a koutou; kei patua ki te aroaro o o koutou hoariri. 43Na ka korero ahau ki a koutou; a kihai koutou i rongo, heoi, ka tutu koutou ki te kupu a Ihowa, na hikaka ana koutou, piki ana ki te maunga. 44Na ka puta nga Amori, e noho ana i taua maunga, ki te tu i a koutou, a whai ana i a koutou, ano he pi, patua iho koutou i Heira, a taea noatia a Horema. 45Na ka hoki koutou, ka tangi ki te aroaro o Ihowa; otiia kihai a Ihowa i whakarongo ki to koutou reo, kihai ano i anga tona taringa ki a koutou. 46Na ka noho koutou ki Karehe, a maha noa nga ra, nga ra hoki i noho ai koutou.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 MOSES' SPEECH AT THE END OF THE FORTIETH YEAR. (Deu. 1:1-46)
These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel--The mental condition of the people generally in that infantine age of the Church, and the greater number of them being of young or tender years, rendered it expedient to repeat the laws and counsels which God had given. Accordingly, to furnish a recapitulation of the leading branches of their faith and duty was among the last public services which Moses rendered to Israel. The scene of their delivery was on the plains of Moab where the encampment was pitched
on this side Jordan--or, as the Hebrew word may be rendered "on the bank of the Jordan."
in the wilderness, in the plain--the Arabah, a desert plain, or steppe, extended the whole way from the Red Sea north to the Sea of Tiberias. While the high tablelands of Moab were "cultivated fields," the Jordan valley, at the foot of the mountains where Israel was encamped, was a part of the great desert plain, little more inviting than the desert of Arabia. The locale is indicated by the names of the most prominent places around it. Some of these places are unknown to us. The Hebrew word, Suph, "red" (for "sea," which our translators have inserted, is not in the original, and Moses was now farther from the Red Sea than ever), probably meant a place noted for its reeds (
Num 21:14).
Tophel--identified as Tafyle or Tafeilah, lying between Bozrah and Kerak.
Hazeroth--is a different place from that at which the Israelites encamped after leaving "the desert of Sinai."
2 There are eleven days' journey from Horeb--Distances are computed in the East still by the hours or days occupiesd by the journey. A day's journey on foot is about twenty miles--on camels, at the rate of three miles an hour, thirty miles--and by caravans, about twenty-five miles. But the Israelites, with children and flocks, would move at a slow rate. The length of the Ghor from Ezion-geber to Kadesh is a hundred miles. The days here mentioned were not necessarily successive days [ROBINSON], for the journey can be made in a much shorter period. But this mention of the time was made to show that the great number of years spent in travelling from Horeb to the plain of Moab was not owing to the length of the way, but to a very different cause; namely, banishment for their apostasy and frequent rebellions.
mount Seir--the mountainous country of Edom.
3 in the fortieth year . . . Moses spake unto the children of Israel, &c.--This impressive discourse, in which Moses reviewed all that God had done for His people, was delivered about a month before his death, and after peace and tranquillity had been restored by the complete conquest of Sihon and Og.
4 Ashtaroth--the royal residence of Og, so called from Astarte ("the moon"), the tutelary goddess of the Syrians. Og was slain at
Edrei--now Edhra, the ruins of which are fourteen miles in circumference [BURCKHARDT]; its general breadth is about two leagues.
5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law--that is, explain this law. He follows the same method here that he elsewhere observes; namely, that of first enumerating the marvellous doings of God in behalf of His people, and reminding them what an unworthy requital they had made for all His kindness--then he rehearses the law and its various precepts.
6 The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount--Horeb was the general name of a mountainous district; literally, "the parched" or "burnt region," whereas Sinai was the name appropriated to a particular peak [see on
Exod 19:2]. About a year had been spent among the recesses of that wild solitude, in laying the foundation, under the immediate direction of God, of a new and peculiar community, as to its social, political, and, above all, religious character; and when this purpose had been accomplished, they were ordered to break up their encampment in Horeb. The command given them was to march straight to Canaan, and possess it [
Deut 1:7].
7 the mount of the Amorites--the hilly tract lying next to Kadesh-barnea in the south of Canaan.
to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon--that is, Phśnicia, the country of Sidon, and the coast of the Mediterranean--from the Philistines to Lebanon. The name "Canaanite" is often used synonymously with that of "Phśnician."
8 I have set the land before you--literally, "before your faces"--it is accessible; there is no impediment to your occupation. The order of the journey as indicated by the places mentioned would have led to a course of invasion, the opposite of what was eventually followed; namely, from the seacoast eastward--instead of from the Jordan westward (see on
Num 20:1).
9 I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone--a little before their arrival in Horeb. Moses addresses that new generation as the representatives of their fathers, in whose sight and hearing all the transactions he recounts took place. A reference is here made to the suggestion of Jethro (
Exod 18:18). In noticing his practical adoption of a plan by which the administration of justice was committed to a select number of subordinate officers, Moses, by a beautiful allusion to the patriarchal blessing, ascribed the necessity of that memorable change in the government to the vast increase of the population.
10 ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude--This was neither an Oriental hyperbole nor a mere empty boast. Abraham was told (
Gen 15:5-
Gen 15:6) to look to the stars, and though they "appear" innumerable, yet those seen by the naked eye amount, in reality, to no more than three thousand ten in both hemispheres. The Israelites already far exceeded that number, being at the last census above six hundred thousand [
Num 26:51]. It was a seasonable memento, calculated to animate their faith in the accomplishment of other parts of the divine promise.
19 we went through all that great and terrible wilderness--of Paran, which included the desert and mountainous space lying between the wilderness of Shur westward, or towards Egypt and mount Seir, or the land of Edom eastwards; between the land of Canaan northwards, and the Red Sea southwards; and thus it appears to have comprehended really the wilderness of Sin and Sinai [FISK]. It is called by the Arabs El Tih, "the wandering." It is a dreary waste of rock and of calcareous soil covered with black sharp flints; all travellers, from a feeling of its complete isolation from the world, describe it as a great and terrible wilderness.
22 ye came . . . and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land--The proposal to despatch spies emanated from the people through unbelief; but Moses, believing them sincere, gave his cordial assent to this measure, and God on being consulted permitted them to follow the suggestion (see on
Num 13:1). The issue proved disastrous to them, only through their own sin and folly.
28 the cities are great, and walled up to heaven--an Oriental metaphor, meaning very high. The Arab marauders roam about on horseback, and hence the walls of St. Catherine's monastery on Sinai are so lofty that travellers are drawn up by a pulley in a basket.
Anakims--(See on
Num 13:33). The honest and uncompromising language of Moses, in reminding the Israelites of their perverse conduct and outrageous rebellion at the report of the treacherous and fainthearted scouts, affords a strong evidence of the truth of this history as well as of the divine authority of his mission. There was great reason for his dwelling on this dark passage in their history, as it was their unbelief that excluded them from the privilege of entering the promised land (
Heb 3:19); and that unbelief was a marvellous exhibition of human perversity, considering the miracles which God had wrought in their favor, especially in the daily manifestations they had of His presence among them as their leader and protector.
34 the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth--In consequence of this aggravated offense (unbelief followed by open rebellion), the Israelites were doomed, in the righteous judgment of God, to a life of wandering in that dreary wilderness till the whole adult generation had disappeared by death. The only exceptions mentioned are Caleb and Joshua, who was to be Moses' successor.
37 Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes--This statement seems to indicate that it was on this occasion Moses was condemned to share the fate of the people. But we know that it was several years afterwards that Moses betrayed an unhappy spirit of distrust at the waters of strife (
Ps 106:32-
Ps 106:33). This verse must be considered therefore as a parenthesis.
39 your children . . . who in that day had no knowledge between good and evil--All ancient versions read "to-day" instead of "that day"; and the sense is--"your children who now know," or "who know not as yet good or evil." As the children had not been partakers of the sinful outbreak, they were spared to obtain the privilege which their unbelieving parents had forfeited. God's ways are not as man's ways [
Isa 55:8-
Isa 55:9].
40 turn you, and take your journey into the . . . Red Sea--This command they disregarded, and, determined to force an onward passage in spite of the earnest remonstrances of Moses, they attempted to cross the heights then occupied by the combined forces of the Amorites and Amalekites (compare
Num 14:43), but were repulsed with great loss. People often experience distress even while in the way of duty. But how different their condition who suffer in situations where God is with them from the feelings of those who are conscious that they are in a position directly opposed to the divine will! The Israelites were grieved when they found themselves involved in difficulties and perils; but their sorrow arose not from a sense of the guilt so much as the sad effects of their perverse conduct; and "though they wept," they were not true penitents. So the Lord would not hearken to their voice, nor give ear unto them.
46 So ye abode at Kadesh many days--That place had been the site of their encampment during the absence of the spies, which lasted forty days, and it is supposed from this verse that they prolonged their stay there after their defeat for a similar period.