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.
Musa la diyaamu labaŋolu Mowabi bankoo kaŋ
1 Ñinnu le keta kumoolu ti, Musa ye mennu fo Banisirayilankoolu bee ye, biriŋ ì be nuŋ keñewuloo kono Yoridani Boloŋo tiliboo la. Ì be Araba* tundoo le kaŋ Sufu ñaatiliŋo la, Parani saatewo niŋ ñiŋ saatewolu teema: Tofeli, Labani, Haseroti, aniŋ Disahabu. 2 Ka bo Sinayi Konkoo to ka taa Kadesi-Barineya saatewo mu tili taŋ niŋ kiliŋ taamoo le ti, niŋ i taata niŋ Seyiri Konkoo siloo la.
3 Banisirayilankoolu la boo Misira bankoo kaŋ sanji taŋ naaninjaŋo, kari taŋ niŋ kilinjaŋo, tili foloo la, Musa ye yaamaroolu bee fo ì ye le, Yaawe* ye a yaamari ka mennu fo ì ye. 4 Ñiŋ keta biriŋ a ye Amorinkoolu la mansa Sihoni noo keloo to, meŋ tarata maraloo la Hesiboni saatewo to. Wo waati kiliŋo la le a ye Basani tundoo Mansa Oki fanaa kele, a ye a noo, meŋ tarata maraloo la nuŋ Asitaroti niŋ Edireyi saatewolu to.
Musa la diyaamu foloo
Yaawe la yaamaroo Sinayi Konkoo kaŋ
5 Yoridani Boloŋo tilibo karoo la Mowabi bankoo kaŋ, Musa ye a dati ka Alla la luwaalu bo ì ye ñoo to. A ko:
6 Yaawe ǹ na Alla diyaamuta ǹ ye le, biriŋ m̀ be Sinayi Konkoo to, a ko, “Ali meeta ñiŋ konkoo to le saayiŋ. 7 Ali wuli, ali ye daakaa janjaŋ ka tenteŋ ali la taamasiloo la, ali si taa Kanaani bankoo bee kaŋ. Wo le mu Amorinkoolu la konkotundoo* ti, aniŋ a dandanna tundoolu la taariŋ, Araba tundoo, konkotundoo, Sefela* tundoo, Nekefu* tundoo aniŋ baadaa borindoo. Ali si taa fo Libanooni Konkoolu fanaa to, ka taa fo Yufurati Boloŋo to. 8 A fele, m be bankoo dii la ali la, nte Yaawe ye n kali ali mumuñolu ye meŋ na. Wolu le mu Iburayima, Isiyaaka, aniŋ Yaakuba ti, ka a dii ì niŋ ì koomalankoolu la. Wo to ali duŋ, ali ye bankoo ñiŋ taa.”
Musa ye kiitindirilaalu tomboŋ ñaameŋ
(2 Musa 18:13-27)9 Musa ko Banisirayilankoolu ye ko:
Biriŋ m̀ be Sinayi Konkoo to, n ko ali ye le ko, “Nte kiliŋ te ali la kuwo dunoo taa noo la. 10 Yaawe ali la Alla ye ali yaatewo siyandi le, aduŋ a fele, bii ali be siyaariŋ ko saŋo looloolu. 11 Allamaa Yaawe, ali mumuñolu la Alla ye ali ke wuliwuloolu ti ka tambi ali be ñaameŋ teŋ. Allamaa a ye ali barakandi, ko a ye a laahidi ñaameŋ. 12 Fo nte kiliŋ si ali la kuwo dunoo taa noo baŋ, aniŋ ali la woosiyolu? 13 Ali kee dantaŋ tomboŋ ali la lasiloolu bee kono, mennu ñaamenta, ì ye fahaamuroo soto, aduŋ ì mu buuñaa moolu ti. M be ì ke la ali ye ñaatonkoolu le ti.” 14 Ali ye n jaabi nuŋ ñiŋ ne la ko, “I ye feeroo meŋ landi, a beteyaata le.” 15 Bituŋ ŋa moo ñaamendiŋolu niŋ buuñaa moolu tomboŋ ali la lasiloolu kono, ka ì ke ali la ñaatonkoolu ti. Doolu keta kelediŋ ñaatonkoolu ti wuli kiliŋolu kunna, doolu kemoolu, doolu taŋ luuloolu, doolu taŋolu, doolu keta dookuulaalu ti bundaa koteŋolu to, ali la lasiloolu bee kunna.
16 Ŋa ali la kiitindirilaalu yaamari le nuŋ, n ko ì ye ko, “Ali si i lamoyi kendeke kiitiyo to, meŋ be dendiŋ Banisirayilanka dammaalu la waaliyo la. Ali si kiitiyo kuntu tiliŋo kono, fo kuwo be Banisirayilanka dammaalu le teema, waraŋ ì niŋ tumarankewo teema, meŋ be siiriŋ ì fee. 17 Ali kana laa moo kaŋ kiitiyo kono. Sembetiyolu niŋ sembentaŋolu, ali ì bee lamoyi ñaa kiliŋo ñaama. Ali kana moo ñaa kono juubee ka sila a la, kaatu Alla le mu kiitiiteyilaa ti. Kiitii-wo-kiitii koleyaata ali bulu, ali a samba n ye naŋ, ŋa n lamoyi a la.” 18 Ŋa ali yaamari nuŋ kuwolu bee le la, ali ñanta mennu ke la.
Musa ye kullooñinilaalu la kuwo saata
(4 Musa 13:1-33)19 Bituŋ ǹ wulita ka bo naŋ Sinayi Konkoo to, ko Yaawe ǹ na Alla ye ǹ yaamari ñaameŋ. Ŋà ǹ kuŋo tiliŋ Amorinkoolu la konkotundoo to la. Wo siloo kaŋ, ali faŋolu ye a je le, ŋà keñewula* baa meŋ kuntu, a silaŋo be warariŋ ñaameŋ. Kabiriŋ m̀ futata Kadesi-Barineya, 20 n ko ali ye ko, “Silaŋ ali futata Amorinkoolu la konkotundoo kaŋ ne, Yaawe ǹ na Alla ka naa meŋ dii ǹ na. 21 A fele, Yaawe ali la Alla ye bankoo ñiŋ dii ali la le. Ali taa ka jee ke ali taa ti, ko Yaawe, ali mumuñolu la Alla ye a fo ali ye ñaameŋ. Ali kana sila waraŋ ka jikilateyi.”
22 Bituŋ ali bee naata naŋ, ka sutiyaa n na. Ali ko n ye ko, “M̀ batu ŋà kee doolu kii ǹ ñaato foloo, ka bankoo kullootoo juubee. Ì si naa a fo ǹ ye, ǹ ñanta siloo meŋ taa la, aniŋ muŋ saatee siifaalu le be jee.”
23 Wo keta m fee kuu kende le ti, bituŋ ŋa kee taŋ niŋ fula tomboŋ ali kono, lasili-wo-lasili kee kiliŋ. 24 Wolu naata wuli, ì dunta konkotundoo kaŋ. Bituŋ ì futata Esikoli Wulumbaŋo kono, ì ye jee kullootoo juubee. 25 Ì ye bankoo yiridiŋo doolu samba ǹ ye naŋ. Ì niŋ ñiŋ kumoo muruta naŋ ǹ kaŋ ko, “Yaawe ǹ na Alla ka naa banku kendoo le dii ǹ na.”
Banisirayila balanta Yaawe ma
(4 Musa 14:1-45)26 Hani wo, ali maŋ soŋ ka taa jee, ali balanta Yaawe ali la Alla la yaamaroo ma le. 27 Ali ŋunuŋunuta ali la tiriliisoolu* koto, ali ko, “Yaawe ye ǹ koŋ ne, wo le ye a tinna a ye m̀ bondi naŋ Misira bankoo kaŋ, ka ǹ duŋ Amorinkoolu bulu ka ǹ kasaara. 28 Saayiŋ ǹ si taa noo mintoo le? Kullooñinilaalu ŋà mennu kii wolu le faŋo ye ǹ kijoo teyi, ka a fo ǹ ye ko, ‘Wo moolu warabaata le, aduŋ ì jamfabaata ǹ ti! Ì la saatewolu be warariŋ, ì ye ì tata sansaŋ jaŋ baalu le la! Wo koolaa, ŋà Anaki koomalankoolu fanaa je jee le.’ ”
29 Bituŋ n ko ali ye ko, “Ali kana dewuŋ waraŋ ka sila ì la. 30 Yaawe ali la Alla meŋ ka tambi ali ñaato, ate faŋo le be keloo ke la ali ye, ko a ye a ke nuŋ ñaameŋ Misira bankoo kaŋ, ali ñaa ye a je le. 31 Aduŋ ali ye a je le fanaa keñewuloo kono, Yaawe ye ali topatoo ñaameŋ, ko moo ka a diŋo topatoo ñaameŋ.” A ye ali ke wo le ñaama ali la siloo muumewo bee kaŋ, fo ali futata ñiŋ dulaa to jaŋ. 32 Ŋa ñiŋ kumoo fo ali ye ñaa-wo-ñaa, ali maŋ ali jikoo loo Yaawe kaŋ, ali la Alla. 33 Ate meŋ tambita ali ñaato, a ye dulaa ñini ali ye ka ali la tiriliisoolu pempeŋ jee. Suutoo a dimbaamaa le ka tambi ali ñaato, tiloo la a ye ke ko minaayi samasimmaa, ka siloo yitandi ali la, ali ñanta meŋ taa la.
34 Yaawe ye ali la kumoolu moyi le, aduŋ a kamfaata. Wo le to a kalita ko, 35 “Alitolu ñiŋ jamaani moo kuruŋolu, hani kiliŋ ñaa te loo la banku kendoo kaŋ, ŋa n kali ka meŋ dii ali mumuñolu la. 36 Kalebu dammaa, Yefunne dinkewo, wo le ñaa be jee je la. Aduŋ m be bankoo dii la a niŋ a koomalankoolu la le, a ye daameŋ kulloo ñini. Kaatu a dankeneyaata le ka bula nte Yaawe nooma.” 37 Ali la kuwo ye a tinna le Yaawe kamfaata nte fanaa kamma, a ko n ye ko, “Ite te duŋ na bankoo ñiŋ kaŋ. 38 Yosuwa Nuni dinkewo meŋ mu i maakoyilaa ti, ate le be duŋ na jee. A bambandi, kaatu ate le be a tinna la Banisirayilankoolu ye bankoo ñiŋ taa.
39 “Aduŋ ali la dindiŋolu, ali ye a miira mennu be taa mutoo kono, wolu fanaa be duŋ na jee le, dindiŋolu mennu maŋ kuu kendoo niŋ kuu jawoo bo ñoo to. M be bankoo ñiŋ dii la itolu le la ka ke ì taa ti. 40 Bari alitolu, ali muru ali koo la, ali ye taama keñewuloo kono, ka taa Kulunjumbe Baa maafaŋo la.”
41 Bituŋ ali ye n jaabi ko, “Ŋà junube kuwo le ke Yaawe la. Bari saayiŋ m̀ be taa jee kele la le, ko Yaawe ǹ na Alla ye ǹ yaamari a la ñaameŋ.” Wo le to ali kiliŋ-kiliŋ naa ye ali la kelejooraŋolu taa. Ali ye a miira nuŋ ko, a be feeyaa la le ka duŋ konkotundoo ñiŋ kaŋ.
42 Bari Yaawe ye ñiŋ ne fo n ye nuŋ, ka a fo ali ye ko, “Ali kana taa, sako ka jee kele, kaatu nte maŋ tara ali fee. Niŋ ali ye wo ke, ali jawoolu be ali noo la le.” 43 Bituŋ n diyaamuta ali ye, bari ali maŋ soŋ i lamoyi la n na. Ali balanta Yaawe la yaamaroo la, ka taamaayaa ali faŋ na, ali wulita konkotundoo ñiŋ kamma. 44 Bituŋ Amorinkoolu mennu be siiriŋ konkotundoo ñiŋ kaŋ, ì wulita ali kamma naŋ ko kumoolu, ka ali bayindi. Ì ye ali noo kendeke Seyiri konkotundoo kaŋ ka taa fo Horima saatewo to. 45 Wo to le ali muruta naŋ ka kumboo Yaawe ñaatiliŋo la. Bari a maŋ i lamoyi ali la kumboo kaŋo la waraŋ ka ali danku. 46 Bituŋ ǹ naata sabati Kadesi fo waati jaŋ.
