Deuteronomy 2
1 “Then we turned around and went through the desert toward the (Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba), as Yahweh told us to do, and we wandered in the Edom area for many years.
Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Reeds, as Yahweh had spoken to me; we went around Mount Seir for many days.
2 Then Yahweh said to me,
Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
3 ‘You have been wandering around this hilly area for a long enough time. Now turn [and travel] toward the north.
'You have gone around this mountain long enough; turn northward.
4 And tell the people that they are about to travel near the land that belongs to the descendants of Esau, who are also descendants of Isaac. They live in the [hilly] Edom region. They will be afraid of you,
Command the people, saying, “You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; they will be afraid of you. Therefore be careful
5 but do not start to fight against them, because I am not going to give you even a tiny bit [HYP] of their land. I have given that land to the descendants of Esau.
not to fight with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not even enough for the sole of a foot to step on; for I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
6 [When you travel near their land], buy food and water from them.’
You will purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; you will also buy water from them for money, so that you may drink.
7 Do not forget that Yahweh our God has blessed you in everything that you [SYN] have done. He knows [what has happened to you while] you have wandered in this huge desert. But he has been with you during those 40 years, and as a result you have had everything that you needed [LIT].
For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; he has known your walking through this great wilderness. For these forty years Yahweh your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”'
8 So we continued to travel. We avoided going through the hilly area where the descendants of Esau live. We stayed away from the road through the Jordan [River] Valley past Ezion-Geber and Elath [towns], and we turned and traveled northeast toward the desert area where the Moab people-group lives.
So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road, from Elath and from Ezion Geber. Then we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
9 Yahweh said to me, ‘Do not bother/harass the people of Moab, and do not start to fight against them, because I am not going to give you any of their land. [Do not forget that] they are descendants of [Abraham’s nephew] Lot, and I have given to them Ar [city, their capital, and the other areas in that country].’”
Yahweh said to me, 'Do not trouble Moab, and do not fight with them in battle. For I will not give you his land for your own possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot, for their possession.'
10 A large group of giants called Emim formerly lived there. They were strong and numerous, and as tall as the giants who were descendants of Anak.
(The Emites lived there previously, a people as great, as many, and as tall as the Anakim;
11 They and the descendants of Anak are also called the Repha giants, but the people of Moab call them Emim.
these also are considered to be the Rephaim, like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them the Emim.
12 The Hor people-group also formerly lived in the Edom area, but the descendants of Esau chased them out. They defeated and killed them and (settled in/occupied) their land, just as the Israeli people later expelled their enemies from the land that Yahweh gave to them.
The Horites also lived in Seir previously, but the descendants of Esau succeeded them. They destroyed them from before them and lived in their place, like Israel did to the land of his possession that Yahweh gave to them.)
13 [I also said to the Israeli people], “Then we crossed the Zered Gorge, as Yahweh told us to do.
“'Now rise up and go over the brook Zered.' So we went over the brook Zered.
14 It had been thirty-eight years from the time we first left Kadesh-Barnea until we crossed the Zered Gorge. During those years, all the Israeli (fighting men/soldiers) of that generation had died, as Yahweh had vowed would happen.
Now the days from when we came from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the brook Zered, were thirty-eight years. It was by that time that all that generation of the men fit for fighting were gone from the people, as Yahweh had sworn to them.
15 They died because Yahweh opposed them, until he had gotten rid of all of them.
Moreover, the hand of Yahweh was against that generation in order to destroy them from the people until they were gone.
16 After all the men who had been old enough to fight in wars had died [DOU],
So it happened, when all the men fit for fighting were dead and gone from among the people,
17 Yahweh said to me,
that Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
18 ‘Today you all must cross the border into the Moab region, near Ar, [their capital city].
'You are today to pass over Ar, the border of Moab.
19 When you come near the border of the land where the Ammon people-group live, do not bother/harass them or start to fight against them. They are also descendants of Lot, so I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given to them.’”
When you come near opposite the people of Ammon, do not trouble them or fight them; for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession; because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession.'”
20 That region is also called the land of the Repha giants, who formerly lived there. The Ammon people-group call them the Zamzum group.
(That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim lived there previously—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim—
21 They were a large and powerful group, who were as tall as the descendants of Anak. But Yahweh got rid of them, and the Ammon people-group expelled them and took their land away from them and started to live there.
a people as great, as many, and as tall as the Anakim. But Yahweh destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they succeeded them and lived in their place.
22 Yahweh had done the same thing for the descendants of Esau who live in the hilly area of Edom. He got rid of the Hor people-group, with the result that the Edom people-group took their land from them and started to live there. They still live there.
This Yahweh also did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them, and the descendants of Esau succeeded them and have lived in their place even until today.
23 People who came from Crete [Island] got rid of the Av group [who previously lived in the land close to the Mediterranean Sea], as far south as Gaza. They took their land from them and started to live there.
As for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)
24 “[After we had gone through the Moab region], Yahweh said to us, ‘Now cross the Arnon [River]. I will help you to defeat [IDM] [the army of] Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lives in Heshbon [city]. So attack their army and start to take their land from them.
“'Now rise up, go on your journey, and pass over the Valley of the Arnon; look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and fight with him in battle.
25 Today I will begin to cause everyone, everywhere, to be afraid of you. Everyone who hears about you will tremble and be terrified.’
Today I will begin to put the fear and terror of you on the peoples that are under the whole sky; they will hear news about you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you.'
26 Then I sent messengers to go from the desert to King Sihon at Heshbon. I told them to give this peaceful message to the king:
I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying,
27 ‘Please allow us to travel through your land. We [promise that we] will stay on the road; we will not turn off to the right or to the left.
'Let me pass through your land; I will go along the highway; I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left.
28 We will pay for any food or water that you allow us to buy. We want only to walk through your country,
You will sell me food for money, so that I may eat; give me water for money, so that I may drink; only let me pass through on my feet;
29 until we cross the Jordan [River] into the land that Yahweh our God is giving to us. Do for us just as the descendants of Esau who live in the Edom area and the Moab people-group did for us when they allowed us to go through their areas.’
as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, and as the Moabites who live in Ar, did for me; until I pass over the Jordan into the land that Yahweh our God is giving us.'
30 But King Sihon would not allow us to go through his country. That was because Yahweh our God caused him to be stubborn [IDM]. The result was that Yahweh enabled us to defeat his army and take his land [IDM], which we still live in.
But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God had hardened his mind and made his heart obstinate, that he might defeat him by your might, which he has now done today.
31 Yahweh said to me, ‘Listen! I am about to allow you to defeat Sihon’s [army] and to take the people’s land from them. So start to occupy it!’
Yahweh said to me, 'Look, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you; begin to possess it, in order that you may inherit his land.'
32 Then Sihon came out [of the city] with all his army to fight against us at Jahaz [town].
Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
33 But God enabled us to defeat [DOU] them, and we killed Sihon and his sons and all his soldiers.
Yahweh our God gave him over to us and we defeated him and his sons and all his people.
34 We captured all their cities and destroyed them all. We killed all the men and women and children; we did not allow any of them to remain alive.
We took all his cities at that time and completely destroyed every city—men and the women and the little ones; we left no survivor.
35 We took the valuable things that were in the cities that we captured and also their cattle.
Only the cattle we took as spoils for ourselves, along with the spoil of the cities that we had taken.
36 Yahweh our God enabled us to capture [IDM] all their towns from Aroer [in the south], which is at the edge of the Arnon River [Valley], to the Gilead [region in the north]. Some of their cities had [walls around them], but we were able to [climb over them].
From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, all the way to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. Yahweh our God gave them into our hands.
37 But we did not go near the area where the Ammon people-group live, or the banks of the Jabbok riverbed, or the towns in the hilly area, or any other place where Yahweh our God told us not to go.”
It was only to the land of the descendants of Ammon that you did not go, as well as all the side of the Jabbok River, and the cities of the hill country—wherever Yahweh our God had forbidden us to go.
