Deuteronomy 2
1 Then we turned around and headed back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me, and we wandered around Mount Seir for a long time.
“And setting out from there, we arrived at the wilderness which leads to the Red Sea, just as the Lord had spoken to me. And we encompassed Mount Seir for a long time.
2 This is when the Lord told me,
And the Lord said to me:
3 “You have been wandering around this mountain long enough. Go back north,
‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north.
4 and give these orders to the people: ‘You are going to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be frightened of you, so you need to be very careful.
And instruct the people, saying: You shall cross through the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, and they will fear you.
5 Don't fight them, for I'm not going to give you any of their land, not even the size of a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau and it belongs to him.
Therefore, take care diligently, lest you be moved against them. For I will not give to you from their land even as much as the step that one foot can tread upon, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
6 Pay them with money for the food you eat and the water you drink.’
You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink.
7 Remember that the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you've done. He has looked after you during your journey through this large desert. The Lord your God has been with you for these forty years, and you haven't lacked anything.”
The Lord your God has blessed you in every work of your hands. The Lord your God, dwelling with you, knows your journey, how you crossed through this great wilderness over forty years, and how you have been lacking in nothing.’
8 So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We didn't take the Arabah road from Elath and Ezion-geber. Instead we used the road that goes through the desert of Moab.
And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab.
9 Then the Lord told me, “Don't cause the Moabites any trouble or fight them, for I'm not going to give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot and it belongs to them.”
And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fight against the Moabites, nor should you go to battle against them. For I will not give to you anything from their land, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’
10 (A strong and numerous people called the Emim once lived there. They were as tall as the Anakim,
The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim.
11 and just like the Anakim, they were also considered as Rephaim, but the Moabites called them Emim.
They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim.
12 Previously the Horites lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau took over their land. They killed the Horites and settled there, just like Israel did when they occupied the land that the Lord had given them.)
The Horites also formerly lived at Seir. When these had been driven out and destroyed, the sons of Esau lived there, just as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to him.
13 Then the Lord told us, “Go and cross over Zered Brook.” So we crossed over Zered Brook.
Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place.
14 The time it took for us to travel from Kadesh-barnea to when we crossed over the Brook of Zered was thirty-eight years. By this time the entire generation of warriors had died and were no longer part of the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them would happen.
Then, from the time that we advanced from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the torrent Zered, there were thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of the men who were fit for war had been consumed out of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn.
15 In fact the Lord worked against them to remove them from the camp, until they were all dead.
For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp.
16 Once the people's warriors had died,
Then, after all the fighting men had fallen,
17 the Lord told me,
the Lord spoke to me, saying:
18 “Today you will cross out of Moab at the border near Ar.
‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar.
19 However, when you get enter Ammonite territory, don't cause them any trouble or fight them for I'm not going to give you any Ammonite land, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot and it belongs to them.”
And when you have arrived in the vicinity of the sons of Ammon, be careful that you do not fight against them, nor should you be moved to battle. For I will not give to you from the land of the sons of Ammon, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’
20 (This land was previously considered as the country of the Rephaim who used to live there. However, the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim.
21 They were a strong and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them when the Ammonites invaded and drove them out and settled there,
They are a people, great and numerous, and of lofty stature, like the Anakim, whom the Lord wiped away before their face. And he caused them to live there in place of them,
22 just as he'd done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites. They drove them out and settled where they used to live, and are still there to this day.
just as he had done for the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, wiping out the Horites and delivering their land to them, which they possess even to the present time.
23 The Avvim, living in villages as far away as Gaza, were destroyed by the Philistines, who came from Crete, and settled where they used to live.)
Likewise the Hevites, who were living in small villages as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians, who went forth from Cappadocia, and they wiped them out and lived in their place.
24 Then the Lord told us, “Get up, go and cross the Arnon Valley. Look, I have handed over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, as well as his land. Go and start taking it over, and fight him in battle.
‘Rise up and cross the torrent Arnon! Behold, I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, into your hand, and so, begin to possess his land and to engage in battle against him.
25 From this day on, I'm going to make all nations on earth dread you—they will be terrified of you. Because of the news they hear about you they will tremble in terror when you appear.”
Today I will begin to send the terror and dread of you among the peoples who are living under all of heaven, so that, when they hear your name, they may be afraid, and may tremble in the manner of a woman giving birth, and may be gripped by anguish.’
26 Moses told the Israelites, “From the Kedemoth Desert I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon, king of Heshbon, telling him,
Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying:
27 ‘Let us pass through your land. We'll stay on the main road and won't turn off either to the right or to the left.
‘We will cross through your land. We will advance by the public way. We will not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.
28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink for money. Just let us pass through on foot,
Sell us food for a price, so that we may eat. Provide us with water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that you allow us to pass through,
29 just like the descendants of Esau living in Seir and the Moabites living in Ar allowed us, until we cross over the Jordan into the country that the Lord our God is giving to us.”
just as the sons of Esau have done, who live at Seir, and the Moabites, who abide in Ar, until we arrive at the Jordan, and we cross to the land which the Lord our God will give to us.’
30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through, for the Lord your God gave him a stubborn spirit and an obstinate attitude, so the Lord could hand him over to you, as he has now done.
And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, was not willing to grant passage to us. For the Lord your God had hardened his spirit, and had fastened his heart, so that he would be delivered into your hands, just as you now see.
31 Then the Lord told me, “Look, I have started handing Sihon and his land over to you. Now you can begin to conquer and take over his land.”
And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’
32 Sihon and his whole army came out to fight us at Jahaz.
And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz.
33 The Lord our God handed him over to us, and we killed him, his sons, and all his army.
And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people.
34 We also captured all his towns, and set apart for destruction the people of every town: men, women, and children. We didn't leave any survivors.
And we seized all his cities at that time, putting to death their inhabitants: men as well as women and children. We left nothing of them,
35 All we took for ourselves was the livestock and plunder from the towns we'd captured.
except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities,
36 No town had walls too high for us to conquer—from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the town in the valley, all the way to Gilead. The Lord our God handed them all over to us.
from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town which is situated in a valley, all the way to Gilead. There was not a village or city which escaped from our hands. The Lord our God delivered everything to us,
37 But you didn't go anywhere near the country of the Ammonites—the area that borders the Jabbok River or the towns of the hill country, or any other place that the Lord our God had placed off limits.
except the land of the sons of Ammon, which we did not approach, and all that is adjacent to the torrent Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God prohibited to us.”
