1 we finally turned and went into the desert, on the road to the Gulf of Aqaba, as the Lord had commanded, and we spent a long time wandering about in the hill country of Edom.
2 “Then the Lord told me 3 that we had spent enough time wandering about in those hills and that we should go north. 4 He told me to give you the following instructions: ‘You are about to go through the hill country of Edom, the territory of your distant relatives, the descendants of Esau. They will be afraid of you, 5 but you must not start a war with them, because I am not going to give you so much as a square foot of their land. I have given Edom to Esau's descendants. 6 You may buy food and water from them.’
7 “Remember how the Lord your God has blessed you in everything that you have done. He has taken care of you as you wandered through this vast desert. He has been with you these forty years, and you have had everything you needed.
8 “So we moved on and left the road that goes from the towns of Elath and Eziongeber to the Dead Sea, and we turned northeast toward Moab. 9 The Lord said to me, ‘Don't trouble the people of Moab, the descendants of Lot, or start a war against them. I have given them the city of Ar, and I am not going to give you any of their land.’”
( 10 A mighty race of giants called the Emim used to live in Ar. They were as tall as the Anakim, another race of giants. 11 Like the Anakim they were also known as Rephaim; but the Moabites called them Emim. 12 The Horites used to live in Edom, but the descendants of Esau chased them out, destroyed their nation, and settled there themselves, just as the Israelites later chased their enemies out of the land that the Lord gave them.)
13 “Then we crossed the Zered River as the Lord told us to do. 14 This was thirty-eight years after we had left Kadesh Barnea. All the fighting men of that generation had died, as the Lord had said they would. 15 The Lord kept on opposing them until he had destroyed them all.
16 “After they had all died, 17 the Lord said to us, 18 ‘Today you are to pass through the territory of Moab by way of Ar. 19 You will then be near the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. Don't trouble them or start a war against them, because I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given them.’”
( 20 This territory is also known as the land of the Rephaim, the name of the people who used to live there; the Ammonites called them Zamzummim. 21 They were as tall as the Anakim. There were many of them, and they were a mighty race. But the Lord destroyed them, so that the Ammonites took over their land and settled there. 22 The Lord had done the same thing for the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in the hill country of Edom. He destroyed the Horites, so that the Edomites took over their land and settled there, where they still live. 23 The land along the Mediterranean coast had been settled by people from the island of Crete. They had destroyed the Avvim, the original inhabitants, and had taken over all their land as far south as the city of Gaza.)
24 “After we had passed through Moab, the Lord told us, ‘Now, start out and cross the Arnon River. I am placing in your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, along with his land. Attack him, and begin occupying his land. 25 From today on I will make people everywhere afraid of you. Everyone will tremble with fear at the mention of your name.’
Israel Defeats King Sihon
(Numbers 21.21-30)26 “Then I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with the following offer of peace: 27 ‘Let us pass through your country. We will go straight through and not leave the road. 28 We will pay for the food we eat and the water we drink. All we want to do is to pass through your country, 29 until we cross the Jordan River into the land that the Lord our God is giving us. The descendants of Esau, who live in Edom, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, allowed us to pass through their territory.’
30 “But King Sihon would not let us pass through his country. The Lord your God had made him stubborn and rebellious, so that we could defeat him and take his territory, which we still occupy.
31 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Look, I have made King Sihon and his land helpless before you; take his land and occupy it.’ 32 Sihon came out with all his men to fight us near the town of Jahaz, 33 but the Lord our God put him in our power, and we killed him, his sons, and all his men. 34 At the same time we captured and destroyed every town, and put everyone to death, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 We took the livestock and plundered the towns. 36 The Lord our God let us capture all the towns from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and the city in the middle of that valley, all the way to Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us. 37 But we did not go near the territory of the Ammonites or to the banks of the Jabbok River or to the towns of the hill country or to any other place where the Lord our God had commanded us not to go.
1 Then we turned, and tooke our iourney into the wildernes, by the way of the red Sea, as the Lord spake vnto me: and we compassed mount Seir a long time. 2 And the Lord spake vnto me, saying, 3 Ye haue compassed this mountaine long ynough: turne you Northward. 4 And warne thou the people, saying, Ye shall go through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraide of you: take ye good heede therefore. 5 Ye shall not prouoke them: for I wil not giue you of their land so much as a foot breadth, because I haue giuen mount Seir vnto Esau for a possession. 6 Ye shall buy meate of them for money to eate, and ye shall also procure water of them for money to drinke. 7 For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the workes of thine hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wildernes, and the Lord thy God hath bene with thee this fourtie yeere, and thou hast lacked nothing. 8 And when we were departed from our brethren the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plaine, from Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and went by the way of the wildernes of Moab. 9 Then the Lord sayd vnto me, Thou shalt not vexe Moab, neither prouoke them to battel: for I wil not giue thee of their land for a possession, because I haue giuen Ar vnto 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 They also were taken for gyants as the Anakims: whom the Moabites call Emims. 12 The Horims also dwelt in Seir before time, whome the children of Esau chased out and destroyed them before them, and dwelt in their steade: as Israel shall doe vnto the land of his possession, which the Lord hath giuen them. 13 Now rise vp, sayd I, and get you ouer the riuer Zered: and we went ouer the riuer Zered. 14 The space also wherein we came from Kadesh-barnea, vntill we were come ouer the riuer Zered, was eight and thirtie yeeres, vntill all the generation of the men of warre were wasted out from among the hoste, as the Lord sware vnto them. 15 For in deede the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the hoste, till they were consumed. 16 So when all the men of warre were consumed and dead from among the people: 17 Then the Lord spake vnto me, saying, 18 Thou shalt goe through Ar the coast of Moab this day: 19 And thou shalt come neere ouer against the children of Ammon: but shalt not lay siege vnto them, nor moue warre against them: for I will not giue thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession: for I haue giuen it vnto the children of Lot for a possession. 20 That also was taken for a land of gyants: for gyants dwelt therein afore time, whome the Ammonites called Zamzummims: 21 A people that was great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims: but the Lord destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them in their inheritance, and dwelt in their stead: 22 As he did to the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims before them, and they possessed them, and dwelt in their stead vnto this day. 23 And the Auims which dwelt in Hazarim euen vnto Azzah, the Caphtorims which came out of Caphtor destroyed them, and dwelt in their steade. 24 Rise vp therefore, sayd the Lord: take your iourney, and passe ouer the riuer Arnon: beholde, I haue giuen into thy hand Sihon, the Amorite, King of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possesse it and prouoke him to battell. 25 This day wil I begin to send thy feare and thy dread, vpon all people vnder the whole heauen, which shall heare thy fame, and shall tremble and quake before thee. 26 Then I sent messengers out of the wildernes of Kedemoth vnto Sihon King of Heshbon, with wordes of peace, saying, 27 Let me passe through thy land: I will go by the hie way: I will neither turne vnto the right hand nor to the left. 28 Thou shalt sell me meate for money, for to eate, and shalt giue me water for money for to drinke: onely I will go through on my foote, 29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did vnto me) vntill I be come ouer Iorden, into the land which the Lord our God giueth vs. 30 But Sihon the King of Heshbon would not let vs passe by him: for the Lord thy God had hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, because hee would deliuer him into thine hand, as appeareth this day. 31 And the Lord sayd vnto me, Beholde, I haue begun to giue Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possesse and inherite his land. 32 Then came out Sihon to meete vs, him selfe with all his people to fight at Iahaz. 33 But the Lord our God deliuered him into our power, and we smote him, and his sonnes, and all his people. 34 And we tooke all his cities the same time, and destroyed euery citie, men, and women, and children: we let nothing remaine. 35 Onely the cattell we tooke to our selues, and the spoyle of the cities which we tooke, 36 From Aroer, which is by the banke of the riuer of Arnon, and from the citie that is vpon the riuer, euen vnto Gilead: there was not one citie that escaped vs: for the Lord our God deliuered vp all before vs. 37 Onely vnto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor vnto any place of the riuer Iabbok, nor vnto the cities in the mountaines, nor vnto whatsoeuer the Lord our God forbade vs.