Numbers 21
1 The king of Arad [city] lived in the area where the Canaan people-group lived, in the desert in the southern part of the land. He heard a report that the Israelis were approaching on the road to Atharim [village]. So his army attacked the Israelis and captured some of them.
And when the Canaanite, the king of 'Arad, who dwelt in the south, heard that Israel was coming by the way of the spies: he made an attack on Israel, and took from them some prisoners.
2 Then the Israelis solemnly vowed: “Yahweh, if you will help us to defeat these people, we will completely destroy all their towns.”
And Israel made a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt but deliver this people into my hand, then will I devote their cities.
3 Yahweh heard what they requested, and he enabled them to defeat the army of the Canaan people-group. The Israeli soldiers killed all the people and destroyed their towns. [Ever since that time], that place has been called Hormah [which means ‘destruction’].
And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and he delivered up the Canaanites; and they devoted them and their cities: and they called the name of the place Chormah.
4 Then the Israelis left Hor Mountain and traveled on the road towards the Red Sea, in order to go around [the land of] Edom. But the people became impatient along the way,
And they set forward from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people became impatient because of the way.
5 and they began to grumble/complain against God and against Moses/me. They said, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in this desert [RHQ]? There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink. And we detest this lousy [manna] food!”
And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this miserable bread.
6 So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died.
And the Lord let loose against the people poisonous serpents, and they bit the people; and there died much people of Israel.
7 Then the people came to Moses/me and cried out, saying, “We [now know that we] have sinned against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh, asking that he will take away the snakes!” So Moses/I prayed for the people.
And the people then came to Moses, and they said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away from us the serpents. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then Yahweh told him/me, “Make a model/image of a poisonous snake, and attach it to the top of a pole. If those who are bitten by the snakes look at that model, they will (recover/get well).”
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thyself a serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that whoever is bitten shall look at it, and he shall live.
9 So Moses/I made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
And Moses made a serpent of copper, and put it upon a pole; and it came to pass, that, when a serpent had bitten any man, and he looked up to the serpent of copper, he remained alive.
10 Then the Israelis traveled to Oboth and (camped/set up their tents) there.
And the children of Israel set forward, and encamped in Oboth.
11 Then they left there, and went to Iye-Abarim, in the desert on the eastern border of Moab.
And they journeyed from Oboth, and encamped at 'Iye-ha'abarim, in the wilderness, which is before Moab, toward the rising of the sun.
12 From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there.
From there they set forward and encamped in the valley of Zered.
13 Then they traveled to the north side of the Arnon [River]. That area is in the desert next to the land where the Amor people-group lived. The Arnon [River] is the boundary between Moab and where the Amor people-group lived.
From there they set forward, and encamped on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness, and which cometh out of the boundary of the Emorites; for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and between the Emorites.
14 That is why in the book called ‘The Book of the Wars of Yahweh’ it tells about “Waheb [town] in the Suphah area, and the ravines there; and the Arnon [River]
Therefore mention is made in the book of the wars of the Lord, of Vaheb in Supha, and of the brooks of Arnon,
15 and the ravines there, which extend as far as Ar [village] on the border of Moab.”
And the descent of the brooks, that turneth toward Shebeth-'Ar, and leaneth upon the border of Moab;
16 From there, the Israelis traveled to Beer. There was a well there, where Yahweh previously had said to Moses/me, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
And from there to the well; this is the well where the Lord said unto Moses, Assemble the people and I will give them water.
17 There the Israelis sang this song: “O well, give us water! Sing about this well!
Then did Israel sing this song, Come up, O well; sing ye unto it:
18 Sing about this well which our leaders dug; they dug out [the dirt] with their royal scepters and their walking sticks.” Then the Israelis left that desert and went through Mattanah,
Well, which the princes have dug, which the nobles of the people have hollowed out with the sceptre, with their staves; — and from the wilderness to Mattanah;
19 Nahaliel, and Bamoth [villages].
And from Mattanah to Nachaliel; and from Nachaliel to Bamoth;
20 Then they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah [Mountain] rises above the desert.
And from Bamoth to the valley, which is in the fields of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward the desert.
21 Then the Israelis sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group. This was the message [that they/we gave him]:
And Israel sent messengers unto Sichon the king of the Emorites, saying,
22 “Allow us to travel through your country. We will stay on the king’s highway, [the main road that goes from the south to the north], until we have finished traveling through your land. We will not walk through any field or vineyard, or drink water from your wells.”
Let me pass through thy land; we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink the water of a well: by the king's highway will we go along, until we have passed thy border.
23 But King Sihon refused. He would not allow them to walk through his land. Instead, he sent his whole army to attack the Israelis in the desert. They attacked the Israelis at Jahaz [village].
But Sichon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border; and Sichon assembled all his people together; and went out against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Yahaz, and fought against Israel.
24 But the Israelis completely defeated them and occupied their land, from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north]. They stopped at the border of the land where the Ammon people-group lived, because [the Ammon army was defending] the border strongly.
And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from Arnon unto Yabbok, even unto the children of 'Ammon; for the border of the children of 'Ammon was strong.
25 So the Israelis occupied all the cities and towns where the Amor people-group lived, and some of the Israelis began to live in them. They occupied Heshbon [city] and the nearby villages.
And Israel took all these cities; and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Emorites, in Cheshbon, and in all the villages thereof.
26 Heshbon was the capital of the country. It was the city where King Sihon ruled. His army had previously defeated the army of the king of Moab, and then his people had begun to live in all of the land of Moab as far as the Arnon [River in the south].
For Cheshbon was the city of Sichon the king of the Emorites; and he had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, up to the Arnon.
27 For that reason, one of the poets wrote long ago, “Come to Heshbon, the city where King Sihon [ruled]. We want the city to be restored/rebuilt.
Therefore said the poets, Come into Cheshbon, let the city of Sichon be built and established.
28 A fire blazed from Heshbon; it burned down Ar [city] in Moab, it destroyed [everything on] the hills along the Arnon [River].
For a fire is gone out of Cheshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon: it hath consumed 'Ar-Moab, the men of the high places of the Arnon.
29 You people of Moab, terrible things have happened to you! You people who [worship your god] Chemosh have been (annihilated/wiped out)! The men who [worshiped] [MET] Chemosh have run away and are now refugees, and the women [who worshiped him] have been captured by [the army of] Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group.
Woe to thee, Moab! thou art lost, O people of Kemosh: he hath suffered his sons to become fugitives, and his daughters to go into captivity, unto the king of the Emorites, Sichon.
30 But we have defeated [Sihon and] those descendants of Amor, all the way from Heshbon [in the north] to Dibon [city in the south]. We have completely obliterated/destroyed them as far as Nophah and Medeba [towns].”
We have thrown them down; lost is Cheshbon even unto Dibon, and we have laid waste [all] up to Nophach, which reacheth unto Medeba.
31 So the Israeli people began to live in the land where the Amor people-group lived.
Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Emorites.
32 After Moses/I sent some men to explore the area near Jazer [city], Israeli people began to live in all the towns in that region and expelled the Amor people-group who lived there.
And Moses sent to spy out Ya'zer, and they captured the villages thereof, and drove out the Emorites that were there.
33 Then they turned [north] toward the Bashan region, but King Og of Bashan and all his army attacked them at Edrei [town].
And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan; and 'Og, the king of Bashan, went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
34 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Do not be afraid of Og, because I am going to enable your men to defeat him and his army, and to take possession of all his land. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who ruled in Heshbon.”
And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not; for into thy hand have I delivered him, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do unto him as thou hast done unto Sichon, the king of the Emorites, who dwelt at Cheshbon.
35 And that is what happened. We Israelis defeated Og’s army, and killed King Og and his sons and all his people. Not a person survived! And then we Israelis began to live in their land.
And they smote him and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left unto him that escaped; and they took possession of his land.
