Deuteronomy 3:18-29

Instructions to the Transjordanian Tribes

3:18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites ¹  equipped for battle. 3:19 But your wives, children, and livestock (of which I know you have many) may remain in the cities I have given you. 3:20 You must fight ²  until the Lord gives your countrymen victory ³  as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you.” 3:21 I also commanded Joshua at the same time, “You have seen everything the Lord your God did to these two kings; he ⁴  will do the same to all the kingdoms where you are going. ⁵  3:22 Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will personally fight for you.”

Denial to Moses of the Promised Land

3:23 Moreover, at that time I pleaded with the Lord, 3:24 “O, Lord God, ⁶  you have begun to show me ⁷  your greatness and strength. ⁸  (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?) 3:25 Let me please cross over to see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River – this good hill country and the Lebanon!” ⁹  3:26 But the Lord was angry at me because of you and would not listen to me. Instead, he ¹⁰  said to me, “Enough of that! ¹¹  Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 3:27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and take a good look to the west, north, south, and east, ¹²  for you will not be allowed to cross the Jordan. 3:28 Commission ¹³  Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see.” 3:29 So we settled down in the valley opposite Beth Peor. ¹⁴ 

[3:18]  ¹ tn Heb “your brothers, the sons of Israel.”

[3:20]  ² tn The words “you must fight” are not present in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:20]  ³ tn Heb “gives your brothers rest.”

[3:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord.” The translation uses the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[3:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “which you are crossing over there.”

[3:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.” Cf. NIV, TEV, NLT “Sovereign Lord.”

[3:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “your servant.” The pronoun is used in the translation to clarify that Moses is speaking of himself, since in contemporary English one does not usually refer to oneself in third person.

[3:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “your strong hand” (so NIV), a symbol of God’s activity.

[3:25]  ⁹ tn The article is retained in the translation (“the Lebanon,” cf. also NAB, NRSV) to indicate that a region (rather than the modern country of Lebanon) is referred to here. Other recent English versions accomplish this by supplying “mountains” after “Lebanon” (TEV, CEV, NLT).

[3:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.

[3:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “much to you” (an idiom).

[3:27]  ¹² tn Heb “lift your eyes to the west, north, south, and east and see with your eyes.” The translation omits the repetition of “your eyes” for stylistic reasons.

[3:28]  ¹³ tn Heb “command”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “charge Joshua.”

[3:29]  ¹⁴ sn Beth Peor. This is probably the spot near Pisgah where Balaam attempted to curse the nation Israel (Num 23:28). The Moabites also worshiped Baal there by the name “Baal [of] Peor” (Num 25:1-5).