2. (The trip from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea on the Mount Edom road takes 11 days.)
3. But it was now 40 years after the Israelites had left Egypt. On the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people. He told them everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them.
4. This was after the Lord had defeated Sihon and Og. Sihon was king of the Amorite people and lived in Heshbon. Og was king of Bashan and lived in Ashteroth and Edrei.
5. Now the Israelites were east of the Jordan River in the land of Moab. There Moses began to explain what God had commanded. Moses said:
6. The Lord our God spoke to us at Mount Sinai. He said, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
7. Get ready. Go to the mountain country of the Amorites. Go to all the places around there—the Jordan Valley, the mountains, the western slopes, the southern area, the seacoast, the land of Canaan and Lebanon. Go as far as the great river, the Euphrates.
8. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take it for yourselves. The Lord promised it to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants.”
9. At that time I said, “I am not able to take care of you by myself.
10. The Lord your God has made you grow in number. There are as many of you as there are stars in the sky.
11. I pray that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, will give you a thousand times more people. That’s what he promised.
12. But I cannot take care of your problems, your troubles and your arguments by myself.
13. So choose some men from each tribe. Choose wise men who have understanding and experience. I will make them leaders over you.”