1 Wanderings in the Wilderness “Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way to the 2:1 Lit Sea of Reeds Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me, and circled Mount Seir for many days.
2 And Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
3 ‘You have circled this mountain long enough.Nowturn north,
4 and command the people, saying, “You are going to pass through the territory of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful;
5 do not 2:5Or engage in strife with provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, evenas little asa 2:5Lit treading of a sole of a foot footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
6 You shall buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also bargain with them for water with money so that you may drink.
7 For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He has known your 2:7Lit goings wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.” ’
8 “So we passed beyond our brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road, away from Elath and from Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
9 Then Yahweh said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of 2:9Lit his their land as a possession because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’
10 (The Emim lived there formerly, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim.
11 Like the Anakim, they are also regarded as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
12 Now the Horites formerly lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel would do to the land of 2:12 Lit his their possession which Yahweh gave to them.)
13 ‘Now arise and cross over the 2:13Or wadi brook Zered yourselves.’ So we crossed over the 2:13Or wadi brook Zered.
14 Now the 2:14 Lit days in which we went time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the 2:14 Or wadi brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war came to an end from within the camp, as Yahweh had sworn to them.
15 Moreover the hand of Yahweh was against them, to bring them into confusion from within the camp until they all came to an end.
16 “So it happened when all the men of war had come to an end in death from among the people,
17 that Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
18 ‘Today you are about to cross over Ar, the border of Moab.
19 And you will come opposite the sons of Ammon. Do not harass 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 the sons of Lot as a possession.’
20 (It is also regarded as the land of the Rephaim,forRephaim formerly lived in it, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummin,
21 a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim, but Yahweh destroyed them before them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place,
22 just as He did for the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them; they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day.
23 And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the 2:23Possibly ancestors to the Philistines, cf. Gen 10:14;Jer 47:4 Caphtorim who came from 2:23Possibly Crete Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.)
24 ‘Arise, set out, and pass through the 2:24 Or wadi valley of Arnon. Look! I have given Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land into your hand; begin to take possession and provoke him to battle.
25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you 2:25 Lit in front of upon the peoples 2:25 Lit under all the heavens everywhere under the heavens, who, when they hear the report of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’
26 “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 2:27Lit go by the way go only on the highway; 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; only let me pass through on 2:28Lit my feet foot,
29 just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which Yahweh our God is giving to us.’
30 But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass 2:30Lit by him through his land, for Yahweh your God stiffened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to give him over into your hand, ashe istoday.
31 And Yahweh said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land 2:31Lit before you over to you. Begin to possess, so that you mayfullypossess his land.’
32 “Then Sihon 2:32Lit he and with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz.
33 But Yahweh our God gave him 2:33Lit before us over to us, and we struck him down with his sons and all his people.
34 So we captured all his cities at that time and 2:34 Or put them under the ban devoted to destruction 2:34 Lit every city of men... the men, women, and little ones of every city. We left no survivor remaining.
35 We took only the animals as our plunder and the spoil of the cities which we had captured.
36 From Aroer which is on the edge of the 2:36Or wadi valley of Arnon andfromthe city which is in the 2:36Or wadi valley, even to Gilead, there was not a town that was too high for us; Yahweh our God gave all 2:36Lit before us over to us.
37 Only you did not go near to the land of the sons of Ammon, all along the 2:37Or wadi river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever Yahweh our God had commanded us.