Judgment and Covenant Renewal

4 ^[a]“Surely the day is coming;^(A) it will burn like a furnace.^(B) All the arrogant^(C) and every evildoer will be stubble,^(D) and the day that is coming will set them on fire,^(E)” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch^(F) will be left to them.

Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness

9 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan^(A) to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you,^(B) with large cities^(C) that have walls up to the sky.^{(D) 2} The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”^{(E) 3} But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you^(F) like a devouring fire.^(G) He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly,^(H) as the Lord has promised you.

¹¹ (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites.^(A) His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide.^[a] It is still in Rabbah^(B) of the Ammonites.)

Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

²⁴ “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge.^(A) See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite,^(B) king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage^(C) him in battle. ²⁵ This very day I will begin to put the terror^(D) and fear^(E) of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble^(F) and be in anguish because of you.”

²⁶ From the Desert of Kedemoth^(G) I sent messengers to Sihon^(H) king of Heshbon offering peace^(I) and saying, ²⁷ “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.^{(J) 28} Sell us food to eat^(K) and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot^(L)— ²⁹ as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.” ³⁰ But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord^(M) your God had made his spirit stubborn^(N) and his heart obstinate^(O) in order to give him into your hands,^(P) as he has now done.

³¹ The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”^(Q)

³² When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle^(R) at Jahaz, ³³ the Lord our God delivered^(S) him over to us and we struck him down,^(T) together with his sons and his whole army.

²³ But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory.^(A) He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz,^(B) he fought with Israel.^{(C) 24} Israel, however, put him to the sword^(D) and took over his land^(E) from the Arnon to the Jabbok,^(F) but only as far as the Ammonites,^(G) because their border was fortified. ²⁵ Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites^(H) and occupied them,^(I) including Heshbon^(J) and all its surrounding settlements.

³² And they spread among the Israelites a bad report^(A) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours^(B) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.^{(C) 33} We saw the Nephilim^(D) there (the descendants of Anak^(E) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers^(F) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

²⁸ But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.^(A) We even saw descendants of Anak^(B) there.^{(C) 29} The Amalekites^(D) live in the Negev; the Hittites,^(E) Jebusites^(F) and Amorites^(G) live in the hill country;^(H) and the Canaanites^(I) live near the sea and along the Jordan.^(J)”