Numbers 21
1 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was traveling by the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive.
And it came to the ears of the Canaanite, the king of Arad, living in the South, that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, and he came out against them and took some of them prisoners.
2 Israel vowed to Yahweh and said, “If you give us victory over these people, then we will completely destroy their cities.”
Then Israel made an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give up this people into my hands, then I will send complete destruction on all their towns.
3 Yahweh listened to Israel's voice and he gave them victory over the Canaanites. They completely destroyed them and their cities. That place was called Hormah.
And the Lord, in answer to the voice of Israel, gave the Canaanites up to them; and they put them and their towns completely to destruction: and that place was named Hormah.
4 They traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Reeds to go around the land of Edom. The people became very discouraged on the way.
Then they went on from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, going round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people was overcome with weariness on the way.
5 The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, no water, and we hate this miserable food.”
And crying out against God and against Moses, they said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to come to our death in the waste land? For there is no bread and no water, and this poor bread is disgusting to us.
6 Then Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among the people. The snakes bit the people; many people died.
Then the Lord sent poison-snakes among the people; and their bites were a cause of death to numbers of the people of Israel.
7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and you. Pray to Yahweh for him to take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
Then the people came to Moses and said, We have done wrong in crying out against the Lord and against you: make prayer to the Lord to take away the snakes from us. So Moses made prayer for the people.
8 Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a snake and attach it to a pole. It will happen that everyone who is bitten will survive, if he looks at it.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Make an image of a snake and put it on a rod, and anyone who has been wounded by the snakes, looking on it will be made well.
9 So Moses made a bronze snake and attached it to a pole. When a snake bit any person, if he looked at the bronze snake, he survived.
So Moses made a snake of brass and put it on a rod; and anyone who had a snakebite, after looking on the snake of brass, was made well.
10 Then the people of Israel traveled on and camped at Oboth.
Then the children of Israel went on and put up their tents in Oboth.
11 They traveled from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the east.
And journeying on again from Oboth, they put up their tents in Iye-abarim, in the waste land before Moab looking east.
12 From there they traveled on and camped in the Valley of Zered.
And moving on from there, they put up their tents in the valley of Zered.
13 From there they traveled on and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites. The Arnon River forms the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
From there they went on and put up their tents on the other side of the Arnon, which is on the waste land at the edge of the land of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the line of division between Moab and the Amorites:
14 That is why it says in the scroll of the Wars of Yahweh, “... Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
As it says in the book of the Wars of the Lord, Vaheb in Suphah, and the valley of the Amon;
15 the slope of the valleys that lead toward the town of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”
The slope of the valleys going down to the tents of Ar and touching the edge of Moab.
16 From there they traveled to Beer, the well where Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather the people together for me to give them water.”
From there they went on to Beer, the water-spring of which the Lord said to Moses, Make the people come together and I will give them water.
17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, well! Sing about it,
Then Israel gave voice to this song: Come up, O water-spring, let us make a song to it:
18 about the well that our leaders dug, the well the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and their staffs.” Then from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah.
The fountain made by the chiefs, made deep by the great ones of the people, with the law-givers' rod, and with their sticks. Then from the waste land they went on to Mattanah:
19 From Mattanah they traveled to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:
20 and from Bamoth to a valley in the land of Moab. That is where the top of Mount Pisgah looks down on the wilderness.
And from Bamoth to the valley in the open country of Moab, and to the top of Pisgah looking over Jeshimon.
21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites saying,
And Israel sent men to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying,
22 “Let us pass through your land. We will not turn into any field or vineyard. We will not drink the water from your wells. We will travel by the king's highway until we have crossed your border.”
Let me go through your land: we will not go into field or vine-garden, or take the water of the springs; we will go by the highway till we have gone past the limits of your land.
23 But King Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through their border. Instead, Sihon gathered all his army together and attacked Israel in the wilderness. He came to Jahaz, where he fought against Israel.
And Sihon would not let Israel go through his land; but got all his people together and went out against Israel into the waste land, as far as Jahaz, to make war on Israel.
24 Israel attacked the army of Sihon with the edge of the sword and took their land from the Arnon to the Jabbok river, as far as the land of the people of Ammon. Now the border of the people of Ammon was fortified.
But Israel overcame him, and took all his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the country of the children of Ammon, for the country of the children of Ammon was strongly armed.
25 Israel took all the Amorite cities and lived in all of them, including Heshbon and all of its villages.
And Israel took all their towns, living in Heshbon and all the towns and small places of the Amorites.
26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab. Sihon had taken all his land from his territory to the Arnon River.
For Heshbon was the town of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had made war against an earlier king of Moab and taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.
27 That is why those who speak in proverbs say, “Come to Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be rebuilt and established again.
So the makers of wise sayings say, Come to Heshbon, building up the town of Sihon and making it strong:
28 A fire blazed from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon that devoured Ar of Moab, and the owners of the high places of Arnon.
For a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon: for the destruction of Ar in Moab, and the lords of the high places of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, people of Chemosh. He has made his sons to be fugitives and his daughters to be prisoners of Sihon king of the Amorites.
Sorrow is yours, O Moab! Destruction is your fate, O people of Chemosh: his sons have gone in flight, and his daughters are prisoners, in the hands of Sihon, king of the Amorites.
30 But we have conquered Sihon. Heshbon is devastated all the way to Dibon. We have defeated them all the way to Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”
They are wounded with our arrows; destruction has come on Heshbon, even to Dibon; and we have made the land waste as far as Nophah, stretching out to Medeba.
31 So Israel began to live in the Amorites' land.
So Israel put up their tents in the land of the Amorites.
32 Then Moses sent men to look at Jazer. They took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
And Moses sent men secretly to Jazer, and they took its towns, driving out the Amorites who were living there.
33 Then they turned and went up by the road of Bashan. Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his army, to fight them at Edrei.
Then turning they went up by the way of Bashan; and Og, king of Bashan, went out against them with all his people, to the fight at Edrei.
34 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Do not fear him, because I have given you victory over him, all his army, and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Have no fear of him: for I have given him up into your hands, with all his people and his land; do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, at Heshbon.
35 So they killed him, his sons, and all his army, until none of his people were left alive. Then they took over his land.
So they overcame him and his sons and his people, driving them all out: and they took his land for their heritage.
