2 Then we turned back to travel towards the desert. We went along the road to the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me. For many days, we walked around the region of Mount Seir. [ a ]
2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have walked round this mountain for a long time. Now turn to the north. 4 Give this message to the Israelites: “You will soon go through the country that belongs to Esau's descendants. They have the same ancestors that you have. They live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful. [ b ] 5 Do not attack them at all. I will not give any of their land to you, not even enough ground to put your foot on. I have given the hills around Mount Seir to Esau, for his descendants to live there. 6 When you eat their food and you drink their water, you must pay them for it. 7 I, the Lord your God, have blessed you in everything that you have done. I have taken care of you as you travelled through this great desert. I have been with you for 40 years. You have received everything that you needed.” ’
8 So we went on. We passed the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They have the same ancestors that we have. We left the road through the Jordan Valley that goes from Elath and Ezion-Geber. Instead, we travelled on the road through the Moab desert.
9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not make the people of Moab angry. Do not start a fight against them. I will not give any part of their land to you. I have given Ar to Lot's descendants to be their city.’ [ c ]
10 (Some people called the Emites once lived there. There were many of them and they were as strong and tall as the Anakites. 11 Some people called the Emites and the Anakites, ‘Rephaites’. But the people from Moab called them ‘Emites’. 12 Before this time, the Horites lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau chased them away. They destroyed the Horites and they lived in their country. The Israelites did the same thing to the people who had lived in the land that the Lord gave to them.)
13 Then the Lord said, ‘Get up now and cross the Zered valley.’ So we went across the stream.
14 38 years had passed since we left Kadesh-Barnea. By the time we crossed the Zered valley, all the men who had been old enough to fight had now died. The Lord had said that this would happen. [ d ] 15 The Lord himself removed them so that they all died, one by one.
16 Finally, the last one of these men died and no longer lived among the people. 17 Then the Lord said to me, 18 ‘Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 You will go into the land of the Ammonites. Do not make them angry so that they fight against you. I will not give any of their land to you. I have already given it to Lot's descendants so that they can live there.’
20 (People also call this region the land of the Rephaites, who had once lived there. The Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 There were many Zamzummites and they were as tall and strong as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed the Rephaites when the Ammonites moved in. Then the Ammonites lived there instead of the Rephaites. 22 The Lord had done the same thing for Esau's descendants who lived in Seir. The Lord destroyed the Horites when Esau's descendants moved in and chased them out. Esau's descendants still live in their country today. 23 The same thing happened to the Avvites. [ e ] They had lived in villages as far west as Gaza. But Philistines came from Crete island and they killed the Avvites. The Philistines lived there instead.)
24 Then God said, ‘Now go across Arnon valley. Look, I have given you the land of King Sihon, the Amorite. He is the king of Heshbon. You must go and fight against him. Attack him and take his land for yourselves. 25 Today I will begin to make all the people in the world afraid of you. They will hear reports about you. That will cause them to be very frightened. They will shake with fear!’
26 When we were in Kedemoth desert, I sent a message to Sihon, king of Heshbon. We wanted to agree that we would not fight against each other. 27 I said to him, ‘Please let us go through your country. We will only travel along the road. We will not turn away from the road, to the right side or to the left side. 28 Please sell us food to eat and water to drink. We will pay you with silver coins. We only want to walk through your country. 29 The descendants of Esau who live in Seir let us do this. So did the descendants of Moab who live in Ar. We will go through your country and then we will cross the Jordan River. We will go into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’
30 But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, refused to let us travel through his country. He was too proud to agree with us. The Lord our God had caused him to be like that. He wanted to put King Sihon under your power and give his land to you. You still live in his land today.
31 The Lord said to me, ‘Look! I have begun to give King Sihon and his country to you. Now you must begin to fight against him and take his land for yourselves.’
32 Then Sihon and all his army came out to fight a battle against us at Jahaz. 33 The Lord our God put him under our power. We won the battle against him. We killed King Sihon and his sons and all his soldiers. 34 At that time we took all his towns and we gave everything as a gift to the Lord. We killed the men, women and children. We left no one alive. 35 But we kept the farm animals and other valuable things in the cities for ourselves. 36 The Lord our God gave us all their towns. That included Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley, the city in the valley and other towns all the way to Gilead. No town was too strong for us to take.
37 But we did not go into the Ammonites' country. We did not go into the Jabbok valley. We did not go near the towns in the hill country. The Lord our God had commanded us not to attack those places.
2 “Then we did what the Lord told me to do. We went back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea. We traveled for many days to go around the mountains of Seir. [ a ] 2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have traveled around these mountains long enough. Turn north. 4 Tell the people this: You will pass through the land of Seir. This land belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau. They will be afraid of you. Be very careful. 5 Don’t fight them. I will not give you any of their land—not even a foot of it, because I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau to keep as his own. 6 You must pay the people of Esau for any food you eat or water you drink there. 7 Remember that the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He knows about everything that happened on the trip through this great desert. The Lord your God has been with you these 40 years. You have always had everything you needed.’
8 “So we passed by our relatives, the people of Esau living there in Seir. We left the road that leads from the Jordan Valley to the towns of Elath and Ezion Geber. We turned onto the road that goes to the desert in Moab.
9 “The Lord said to me, ‘Don’t bother the Moabites. Don’t start a war against them. I will not give you any of their land. They are the descendants of Lot, [ b ] and I gave them the city of Ar.’”
10 (In the past, the Emites lived in Ar. They were strong people, and there were many of them. They were very tall, like the Anakites. 11 The Anakites were part of the Rephaites. People thought the Emites were also Rephaites, but the people of Moab called them Emites. 12 The Horites also lived in Seir in the past. Then Esau’s people destroyed the Horites, took their land, and settled there, just as the Israelites did to the people in the land that the Lord gave them.)
13 “The Lord told me, ‘Now, go to the other side of Zered Valley.’ So we crossed Zered Valley. 14 It was 38 years from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until the time we crossed Zered Valley. As the Lord had promised, all the fighting men in our camp from that generation had died. 15 The Lord had opposed those men until they were all dead and gone from our camp.
16 “After all the fighting men were dead and gone, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 ‘Today you must cross the border at Ar and go into Moab. 19 You will be just across from the Ammonites. Don’t bother them or fight with them, because I will not give you their land. They are descendants of Lot, and I have given that land to them.’”
20 (That country is also known as the Land of Rephaim. The Rephaites lived there in the past. The people of Ammon called them the Zamzummites. 21 There were many Rephaites, and they were very strong and tall like the Anakites. But the Lord helped the Ammonites destroy them. The Ammonites took that land and live there now. 22 God did the same thing for Esau’s people. In the past the Horites lived in Seir. [ c ] But Esau’s people destroyed the Horites, and Esau’s descendants still live there today. 23 God did the same thing for some people from Crete. The Avvites lived in the towns around Gaza, but the Cretans destroyed them, took the land, and live there now.)
24 “The Lord told me, ‘Get ready to go across Arnon Valley. I will let you defeat Sihon the Amorite, the king of Heshbon. I will let you take his country. So fight against him and take his land. 25 Today I will make all people everywhere afraid of you. They will hear the news about you, and they will be afraid and shake with fear.’
26 “While we were in the desert of Kedemoth, I sent messengers to King Sihon of Heshbon. The messengers offered peace to Sihon. They said, 27 ‘Let us go through your land. We will stay on the road. We will not turn off the road to the right or to the left. 28 We will pay you in silver for any food we eat or any water we drink. We only want to march through your country. 29 Let us go through your land until we go across the Jordan River into the land that the Lord our God is giving us. Other people have let us go through their land—the people of Esau living in Seir and the Moabites living in Ar.’
30 “But King Sihon of Heshbon would not let us pass through his country. The Lord your God had made him very stubborn and ready to fight. The Lord did this so that he could help you defeat King Sihon. And today we know that is what happened.
31 “The Lord said to me, ‘I am giving King Sihon and his country to you. Now, go take his land!’
32 “Then King Sihon and all his people came out to fight against us at Jahaz. 33 But the Lord our God gave him to us. We defeated King Sihon, his sons, and all his people. 34 We captured all the cities that belonged to King Sihon at that time. We completely destroyed the people in every city—the men, women, and children. We did not leave anyone alive! 35 We took only the cattle and the valuable things from those cities. 36 We defeated the town of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley and the other town in the middle of that valley. The Lord let us defeat all the cities between the Arnon Valley and Gilead. No city was too strong for us. 37 But you did not go near the land that belongs to the people of Ammon. You did not go near the shores of the Jabbok River or the cities of the hill country. You did not go near any place that the Lord our God would not let us have.
2 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.
2 And the Lord spake unto me, saying,
3 Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.
4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:
5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.
7 For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
8 And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
9 And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
10 The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;
11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites called them Emims.
12 The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them.
13 Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.
14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them.
15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.
16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
17 That the Lord spake unto me, saying,
18 Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:
19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.
20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:
22 As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:
23 And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)
24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;
29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.
30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
31 And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
33 And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:
35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us:
37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.
2 “ ( A ) Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way of the [ a ] Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we circled ( B ) Mount Seir for many days. 2 And the Lord spoke to me, saying, 3 ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north, 4 ( C ) and command the people, saying, “You are going to pass through the ( D ) territory of your brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir; and ( E ) they will be afraid of you. So be very careful; 5 do not [ b ] provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even as much as a [ c ] footprint, ( F ) because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You are to buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money so that you may drink. 7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in all [ d ] that you have done; He has known your [ e ] wandering through this ( G ) great wilderness. These ( H ) forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked anything.”’
8 “So we passed beyond our brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the ( I ) Arabah road, away from Elath and ( J ) Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not attack Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of [ f ] their land as a possession, because I have given ( K ) Ar to ( L ) the sons of Lot as a possession.’ 10 (The ( M ) Emim lived there previously, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim. 11 Like the Anakim, they too are regarded as ( N ) Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 ( O ) The Horites previously lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before [ g ] them, and settled in their place; ( P ) just as Israel did to the land of [ h ] their possession which the Lord gave them.) 13 ‘Now arise and cross over the [ i ] Wadi Zered yourselves.’ So we crossed over the [ j ] Wadi Zered. 14 Now the [ k ] time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the [ l ] Wadi Zered was ( Q ) thirty-eight years, until ( R ) all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, just as ( S ) the Lord had sworn to them. 15 ( T ) Indeed, the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from within the camp until they all perished.
16 “So it came about, when ( U ) all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, 17 that the Lord spoke to me, saying, 18 ‘Today you shall cross over ( V ) Ar, the border of Moab. 19 When you come opposite the ( W ) sons of Ammon, do not attack them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to ( X ) the sons of Lot as a possession.’ 20 (It is also regarded as the land of the ( Y ) Rephaim, because the Rephaim previously lived in it, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummin, 21 a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before [ m ] them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place, 22 just as He did for the sons of Esau, who ( Z ) live in Seir, when He destroyed ( AA ) the Horites from before them; they dispossessed them and settled in their place, where they remain even to this day. 23 And as for the ( AB ) Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the [ n ] ( AC ) Caphtorim, who came from [ o ] ( AD ) Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.) 24 ‘Arise, set out, and pass through the [ p ] ( AE ) Valley of Arnon. Look! I have handed over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; start taking possession and plunge into battle with him. 25 This day I will begin to put ( AF ) the dread and fear of you upon the faces of [ q ] people everywhere, [ r ] who, when they hear the news of you, ( AG ) will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’
26 “ ( AH ) So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27 ‘Let me pass through your land; I will [ s ] travel only on the road. I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 28 You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, ( AI ) only let me pass through on [ t ] foot, 29 just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in ( AJ ) Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving us.’ 30 But ( AK ) Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass [ u ] through his land; for the ( AL ) Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to hand him over to you, as he is today. 31 And the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to turn Sihon and his land over [ v ] to you. Begin taking possession, so that you may possess his land.’
32 “Then Sihon came out [ w ] with all his people to meet us in battle at Jahaz. 33 And ( AM ) the Lord our God turned him over [ x ] to us, and we [ y ] ( AN ) defeated him with his sons and all his people. 34 So we captured all his cities at that time and [ z ] ( AO ) utterly destroyed [ aa ] the men, women, and children of every city. We left no survivor. 35 We took ( AP ) only the animals as our plunder, and the spoils of the cities which we had captured. 36 From ( AQ ) Aroer which is on the edge of the [ ab ] Valley of Arnon and from the city which is in the [ ac ] valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too [ ad ] high for us; the Lord our God turned it all over [ ae ] to us. 37 ( AR ) Only you did not go near the land of the sons of Ammon, all along the [ af ] river ( AS ) Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the Lord our God had commanded us to avoid .
2 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea, [ a ] ( A ) as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir. ( B )
2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; ( C ) now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders: ( D ) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, ( E ) who live in Seir. ( F ) They will be afraid ( G ) of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. ( H ) 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”
7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched ( I ) over your journey through this vast wilderness. ( J ) These forty years ( K ) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything. ( L )
8 So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from ( M ) the Arabah ( N ) road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, ( O ) and traveled along the desert road of Moab. ( P )
9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar ( Q ) to the descendants of Lot ( R ) as a possession.”
10 (The Emites ( S ) used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. ( T ) 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, ( U ) but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites ( V ) used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did ( W ) in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)
13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley. ( X ) ” So we crossed the valley.
14 Thirty-eight years ( Y ) passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea ( Z ) until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation ( AA ) of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. ( AB ) 15 The Lord ’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated ( AC ) them from the camp.
16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. ( AD ) 19 When you come to the Ammonites, ( AE ) do not harass them or provoke them to war, ( AF ) for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot. ( AG ) ”
20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, ( AH ) who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. ( AI ) The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, ( AJ ) when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites ( AK ) who lived in villages as far as Gaza, ( AL ) the Caphtorites ( AM ) coming out from Caphtor [ b ] ( AN ) destroyed them and settled in their place.)
24 “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. ( AO ) See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, ( AP ) king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage ( AQ ) him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror ( AR ) and fear ( AS ) of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble ( AT ) and be in anguish because of you.”
26 From the Desert of Kedemoth ( AU ) I sent messengers to Sihon ( AV ) king of Heshbon offering peace ( AW ) and saying, 27 “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. ( AX ) 28 Sell us food to eat ( AY ) and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot ( AZ ) — 29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.” 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord ( BA ) your God had made his spirit stubborn ( BB ) and his heart obstinate ( BC ) in order to give him into your hands, ( BD ) as he has now done.
31 The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.” ( BE )
32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle ( BF ) at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered ( BG ) him over to us and we struck him down, ( BH ) together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed [ c ] ( BI ) them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock ( BJ ) and the plunder ( BK ) from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer ( BL ) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, ( BM ) not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave ( BN ) us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God, ( BO ) you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, ( BP ) neither the land along the course of the Jabbok ( BQ ) nor that around the towns in the hills.
