Deuteronomy 1 41

Deuteronomy 1:41 kjv

Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

Deuteronomy 1:41 nkjv

"Then you answered and said to me, 'We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.' And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain.

Deuteronomy 1:41 niv

Then you replied, "We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God commanded us." So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

Deuteronomy 1:41 esv

"Then you answered me, 'We have sinned against the LORD. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.' And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.

Deuteronomy 1:41 nlt

"Then you confessed, 'We have sinned against the LORD! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the LORD our God has commanded us.' So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

Deuteronomy 1 verses

Deuteronomy 1 41 Meaning

Deuteronomy 1:41 describes a pivotal moment in Israel's wilderness journey when, after being told by the Lord that they would not enter the Promised Land due to their earlier disbelief and rebellion, the people paradoxically declare their intention to fight and enter, falsely claiming it as obedience to God's command. This verse captures their superficial repentance, presumptuous zeal, and self-reliance, which ultimately led to a devastating defeat by their enemies because the Lord was not with them. It highlights the danger of acting on human will rather than divine instruction.

Deuteronomy 1 41 Context

Deuteronomy 1:41 is part of Moses’ first discourse to the new generation of Israelites gathered on the plains of Moab before entering the Promised Land. In this discourse, Moses reviews the past forty years of their wilderness wandering, specifically recounting their rebellion and God's faithfulness, aiming to teach the new generation lessons from their parents' failures. The immediate context of this verse is the Israelites' infamous act of rebellion at Kadesh Barnea. After the twelve spies returned, ten of them brought a discouraging report that caused the people to fear the inhabitants of Canaan and refuse to enter the land (Deut 1:26-33), despite God's assurance and command (Deut 1:20-21). As a result of their unbelief and disobedience, God declared that none of that generation, except Caleb and Joshua, would enter the Promised Land, but instead would wander in the wilderness for forty years until that generation died off (Deut 1:34-40). Verse 41 captures their subsequent, desperate, and misguided reaction: a sudden, presumptuous resolve to fight and enter the land after God had already judged their rebellion and rescinded His command to go up. They claimed to be obeying God, but in reality, they were defying His most recent, direct instruction not to go. This self-willed action was met with devastating defeat, serving as a powerful lesson in the perils of disobedience and false repentance.

Deuteronomy 1 41 Word analysis

• "Then you answered and said to me":
  • 'ānîtam wate’omərû ‘ēlay (Hebrew). ‘ānîtam (you answered) comes from ‘ānâ, to reply or respond. This highlights that their action was a direct, albeit erroneous, response to Moses conveying God's judgment and the new command to turn back.
• "We have sinned against the LORD":
  • ḥāṭā'nû la-YHWH (Hebrew). ḥāṭā'nû (we have sinned) from ḥāṭā’, "to miss the mark," "to go astray." This is an admission of guilt, but their subsequent actions show it was likely a confession of convenience or fear of punishment, not genuine, transformative repentance that changes behavior in line with God’s present will.
• "We ourselves will go up and fight":
  • ‘anaḥnû na‘alêh wəniyyilḥam (Hebrew).
  • ‘anaḥnû (we ourselves): The emphatic personal pronoun "we" (אנחנו) suggests self-reliance and determination stemming from human will, not divine leading. It contrasts sharply with their earlier refusal based on fear.
  • na‘alêh (will go up) from ‘ālāh, "to ascend," "to go up." This term is used consistently for entering or conquering the land, but here it is presumptuous.
  • wəniyyilḥam (and we will fight) from lāḥam, "to fight," "to wage war." This decision was made independent of God's present command.
• "just as the LORD our God commanded us":
  • ka'ǎšer ṣiwwāh YHWH ‘elōhênû ‘ōṯānû (Hebrew).
  • ka'ǎšer (just as/as): This conjunction introduces a comparison that is fundamentally false in context.
  • ṣiwwāh (commanded) from ṣawâ, "to command," "to appoint." This is a blatant misrepresentation. God had previously commanded them to go up (Deut 1:20-21), but immediately before this statement, He commanded them to turn back into the wilderness (Deut 1:40). Their claim reflects self-deception or a deliberate perversion of truth.
• "And every one of you girded on his weapons of war":
  • wattichgorû ‘îš kilî-milḥamətô (Hebrew).
  • wattichgorû (you girded on) from ḥāgar, "to gird," "to equip oneself." It implies readiness for battle, donning armor and weapons. This physical preparation, though thorough, was not sanctified by divine command.
• "and thought it easy to go up into the hill country":
  • wattalû lehōlîl la'ălôṯ ba-har` (Hebrew, often interpreted as 'took it lightly' or 'thought it easy').
  • hōlîl (thought easy/took lightly) from hālal, "to be foolish," "to act madly," but in this construct it suggests acting rashly, taking lightly. They underestimated the enemy and overestimated their own strength, particularly in a context where God’s presence was absent. This illustrates human presumption leading to a lack of proper discernment regarding spiritual and practical realities.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "We have sinned... We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.": This sequence powerfully demonstrates superficial repentance followed by defiant, self-willed action. They confess sin but then claim a past command to justify a present act of disobedience, twisting truth. This reveals a desire to manage consequences without submitting to God’s current will. It's a confession without transformation, revealing a prideful, independent spirit rather than true submission.
• "girded on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up": This describes their misplaced confidence and human zeal. They were prepared physically, but unprepared spiritually, underestimating the consequences of acting without divine endorsement. The ease with which they thought they could go up exposes their arrogant overestimation of themselves and underestimation of the challenges (enemies, God's decree) when God's presence was explicitly withdrawn.

Deuteronomy 1 41 Bonus section

The event described in Deut 1:41 (and its parallel in Num 14) serves as a classic biblical example of "will-worship" or "presumptuous sin" (from the Hebrew yad ramah, "with a high hand"). It is not just ignorance, but deliberate rebellion against a clear divine directive. This passage reveals that true repentance does not manifest as frantic self-exertion to undo past wrongs in defiance of God's new command, but rather as humble submission to His word, even when that word is difficult or calls for a different path. The hill country (the mountain or the highlands), which they found "easy" to ascend, was actually fortified with Amalekites and Canaanites, symbolically representing the formidable spiritual and physical barriers that become insurmountable when God's empowering presence is withheld due to disobedience. The absence of the ark of the covenant and Moses, who remained at the camp, further symbolized the absence of divine presence and authority during their presumptuous ascent.

Deuteronomy 1 41 Commentary

Deuteronomy 1:41 lays bare a profound spiritual lesson: mere confession of sin, even heartfelt, is insufficient without accompanying repentance that includes active obedience to God's current commands. The Israelites’ declaration, "We have sinned against the LORD. We ourselves will go up and fight," outwardly appears zealous or even courageous. However, it was a delayed and misdirected response. They had confessed their sin of unbelief, but then immediately proceeded to act against the clear divine instruction (Deut 1:40) to not go up but turn back. Their claim, "just as the LORD our God commanded us," was a rationalization—they seized upon a past command while utterly defying God's present will.

This episode reveals the danger of human presumption, which is born out of self-reliance and a lack of true submission to God's wisdom and authority. They thought it "easy to go up," highlighting their spiritual blindness and their underestimation of God's displeasure and the power of their enemies when God was not with them. This was not repentance leading to a change of heart, but a frantic attempt to fix their past error by their own strength, outside of God's counsel. The inevitable result, as shown in the subsequent verses (Deut 1:44), was utter defeat, underscoring that zealous human effort, however well-equipped ("girded on his weapons of war"), is futile and even disastrous when God's blessing and presence are absent. It’s a timeless warning against choosing one's own way under the guise of piety.