Wanderings in the Wilderness

(A)Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way of the [a]Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we circled (B)Mount Seir for many days. And the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north, (C)and command the people, saying, “You are going to pass through the (D)territory of your brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir; and (E)they will be afraid of you. So be very careful; do not [b]provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even as much as a [c]footprint, (F)because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. You are to buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money so that you may drink. For the Lord your God has blessed you in all [d]that you have done; He has known your [e]wandering through this (G)great wilderness. These (H)forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked anything.”’

“So we passed beyond our brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the (I)Arabah road, away from Elath and (J)Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not attack Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of [f]their land as a possession, because I have given (K)Ar to (L)the sons of Lot as a possession.’ 10 (The (M)Emim lived there previously, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim. 11 Like the Anakim, they too are regarded as (N)Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 (O)The Horites previously lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before [g]them, and settled in their place; (P)just as Israel did to the land of [h]their possession which the Lord gave them.) 13 ‘Now arise and cross over the [i]Wadi Zered yourselves.’ So we crossed over the [j]Wadi Zered. 14 Now the [k]time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the [l]Wadi Zered was (Q)thirty-eight years, until (R)all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, just as (S)the Lord had sworn to them. 15 (T)Indeed, the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from within the camp until they all perished.

16 “So it came about, when (U)all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, 17 that the Lord spoke to me, saying, 18 ‘Today you shall cross over (V)Ar, the border of Moab. 19 When you come opposite the (W)sons of Ammon, do not attack them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to (X)the sons of Lot as a possession.’ 20 (It is also regarded as the land of the (Y)Rephaim, because the Rephaim previously lived in it, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummin, 21 a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before [m]them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place, 22 just as He did for the sons of Esau, who (Z)live in Seir, when He destroyed (AA)the Horites from before them; they dispossessed them and settled in their place, where they remain even to this day. 23 And as for the (AB)Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the [n](AC)Caphtorim, who came from [o](AD)Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.) 24 ‘Arise, set out, and pass through the [p](AE)Valley of Arnon. Look! I have handed over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; start taking possession and plunge into battle with him. 25 This day I will begin to put (AF)the dread and fear of you upon the faces of [q]people everywhere, [r]who, when they hear the news of you, (AG)will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

26 (AH)So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27 ‘Let me pass through your land; I will [s]travel only on the road. I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 28 You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, (AI)only let me pass through on [t]foot, 29 just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in (AJ)Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving us.’ 30 But (AK)Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass [u]through his land; for the (AL)Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to hand him over to you, as he is today. 31 And the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to turn Sihon and his land over [v]to you. Begin taking possession, so that you may possess his land.’

32 “Then Sihon came out [w]with all his people to meet us in battle at Jahaz. 33 And (AM)the Lord our God turned him over [x]to us, and we [y](AN)defeated him with his sons and all his people. 34 So we captured all his cities at that time and [z](AO)utterly destroyed [aa]the men, women, and children of every city. We left no survivor. 35 We took (AP)only the animals as our plunder, and the spoils of the cities which we had captured. 36 From (AQ)Aroer which is on the edge of the [ab]Valley of Arnon and from the city which is in the [ac]valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too [ad]high for us; the Lord our God turned it all over [ae]to us. 37 (AR)Only you did not go near the land of the sons of Ammon, all along the [af]river (AS)Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the Lord our God had commanded us to avoid.

Conquests Recounted

(AT)Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, came out [ag]with all his people to meet us in battle at Edrei. But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him and all his people and his land over to you; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.’ So the Lord our God also handed over to us Og, king of Bashan, with all his people, and we struck [ah]them until no survivor was [ai]left. We captured all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of (AU)Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many [aj]unwalled towns. We [ak]utterly destroyed them, as we did to (AV)Sihon king of Heshbon, [al](AW)utterly destroying [am]the men, women, and children of every city. (AX)But all the animals and the spoils of the cities we took as our plunder.

(AY)So at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the [an]Valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon (Sidonians (AZ)call Hermon (BA)Sirion, and the Amorites call it (BB)Senir): 10 all the cities of the plateau, all Gilead, and (BC)all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the (BD)Rephaim. Behold, his [ao]bed was a [ap]bed of iron; it is in (BE)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits, and its width four cubits by [aq]the usual cubit.)

12 “So we took possession of this land at that time. From (BF)Aroer, which is by the [ar]Valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of (BG)Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. 13 The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob. (As to all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim. 14 (BH)Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, that is, Bashan, and named [as]it after his own name: [at]Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 (BI)To Machir I gave Gilead. 16 To the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the [au]Valley of Arnon, the middle of the [av]valley [aw]as a border, and as far as the [ax]river (BJ)Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan [ay]as a border, from [az](BK)Chinnereth (BL)even as far as the sea of the Arabah, (BM)the Salt Sea, [ba]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘(BN)The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it; (BO)all you [bb]valiant men shall cross over armed ahead of your brothers, the sons of Israel. 19 (BP)However, your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have (BQ)much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you, 20 (BR)until the Lord gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. (BS)Then you may return, each man to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; the Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22 Do not fear them, for the Lord your God (BT)is the One fighting for you.’

23 “I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘Lord [bc]God, You have begun to show Your servant (BU)Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what (BV)god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? 25 Please let me cross over and see the (BW)good land that is beyond the Jordan, [bd]that good hill country, and Lebanon.’ 26 But (BX)the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; instead, the Lord said to me, ‘[be]Enough! Do not speak to Me any more about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of (BY)Pisgah and raise your eyes to the west, the north, the south, and the east, and see it with your eyes; (BZ)for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28 (CA)But commission Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, (CB)for he shall go across [bf]leading this people, and he will give to them, as an inheritance, the land which you will see.’ 29 So we remained in the valley opposite (CC)Beth-peor.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:1 Lit Sea of Reeds
  2. Deuteronomy 2:5 Or engage in strife with
  3. Deuteronomy 2:5 Lit treading of a sole of a foot
  4. Deuteronomy 2:7 Lit the work of your hand
  5. Deuteronomy 2:7 Lit going
  6. Deuteronomy 2:9 Lit his
  7. Deuteronomy 2:12 I.e., the sons of Esau
  8. Deuteronomy 2:12 Lit his
  9. Deuteronomy 2:13 I.e., dry stream bed, except in the rainy season
  10. Deuteronomy 2:13 I.e., dry stream bed, except in the rainy season
  11. Deuteronomy 2:14 Lit days in which we went
  12. Deuteronomy 2:14 See note v 13
  13. Deuteronomy 2:21 I.e., the Ammonites
  14. Deuteronomy 2:23 I.e., Philistines
  15. Deuteronomy 2:23 I.e., Crete
  16. Deuteronomy 2:24 Or wadi
  17. Deuteronomy 2:25 Lit peoples under all the heavens
  18. Deuteronomy 2:25 Lit who will hear...and tremble
  19. Deuteronomy 2:27 Lit go on the road, on the road
  20. Deuteronomy 2:28 Lit my feet
  21. Deuteronomy 2:30 Lit by him
  22. Deuteronomy 2:31 Lit before you
  23. Deuteronomy 2:32 Lit he and
  24. Deuteronomy 2:33 Lit before us
  25. Deuteronomy 2:33 Lit struck
  26. Deuteronomy 2:34 Or put under the ban
  27. Deuteronomy 2:34 Lit every city of men...
  28. Deuteronomy 2:36 Or wadi
  29. Deuteronomy 2:36 Or wadi
  30. Deuteronomy 2:36 Or strong
  31. Deuteronomy 2:36 Lit before us
  32. Deuteronomy 2:37 Or wadi
  33. Deuteronomy 3:1 Lit he and
  34. Deuteronomy 3:3 Lit him
  35. Deuteronomy 3:3 Lit left to him
  36. Deuteronomy 3:5 Or rural
  37. Deuteronomy 3:6 Or put them under the ban
  38. Deuteronomy 3:6 Or putting under the ban
  39. Deuteronomy 3:6 Lit every city of men...
  40. Deuteronomy 3:8 Or wadi
  41. Deuteronomy 3:11 Or couch
  42. Deuteronomy 3:11 Or couch
  43. Deuteronomy 3:11 Lit by a man’s forearm; about 14 ft. long and 6 ft. wide or 4 m and 1.8 m
  44. Deuteronomy 3:12 Or wadi
  45. Deuteronomy 3:14 Lit them
  46. Deuteronomy 3:14 I.e., the towns of Jair
  47. Deuteronomy 3:16 Or wadi
  48. Deuteronomy 3:16 Or wadi
  49. Deuteronomy 3:16 Lit and
  50. Deuteronomy 3:16 Or wadi
  51. Deuteronomy 3:17 Lit and
  52. Deuteronomy 3:17 I.e., the Sea of Galilee
  53. Deuteronomy 3:17 Lit under
  54. Deuteronomy 3:18 Lit sons of valor
  55. Deuteronomy 3:24 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  56. Deuteronomy 3:25 Lit this
  57. Deuteronomy 3:26 Lit Much for you
  58. Deuteronomy 3:28 Lit before this

Wanderings in the Wilderness

Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,[a](A) as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.(B)

Then the Lord said to me, “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;(C) now turn north. Give the people these orders:(D) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau,(E) who live in Seir.(F) They will be afraid(G) of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.(H) You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched(I) over your journey through this vast wilderness.(J) These forty years(K) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.(L)

So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from(M) the Arabah(N) road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber,(O) and traveled along the desert road of Moab.(P)

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar(Q) to the descendants of Lot(R) as a possession.”

10 (The Emites(S) used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(T) 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites,(U) but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites(V) used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did(W) in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.(X)” So we crossed the valley.

14 Thirty-eight years(Y) passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea(Z) until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation(AA) of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.(AB) 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated(AC) them from the camp.

16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.(AD) 19 When you come to the Ammonites,(AE) do not harass them or provoke them to war,(AF) for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.(AG)

20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites,(AH) who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(AI) The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir,(AJ) when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites(AK) who lived in villages as far as Gaza,(AL) the Caphtorites(AM) coming out from Caphtor[b](AN) destroyed them and settled in their place.)

Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

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

26 From the Desert of Kedemoth(AU) I sent messengers to Sihon(AV) king of Heshbon offering peace(AW) 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.(AX) 28 Sell us food to eat(AY) and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot(AZ) 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(BA) your God had made his spirit stubborn(BB) and his heart obstinate(BC) in order to give him into your hands,(BD) 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.”(BE)

32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle(BF) at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered(BG) him over to us and we struck him down,(BH) together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed[c](BI) them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock(BJ) and the plunder(BK) from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer(BL) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead,(BM) not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave(BN) us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God,(BO) you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites,(BP) neither the land along the course of the Jabbok(BQ) nor that around the towns in the hills.

Defeat of Og King of Bashan

Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan(BR) with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.(BS) The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid(BT) of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down,(BU) leaving no survivors.(BV) At that time we took all his cities.(BW) There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom(BX) in Bashan.(BY) All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. We completely destroyed[d] them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying[e](BZ) every city—men, women and children. But all the livestock(CA) and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites(CB) the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.(CC) (Hermon is called Sirion(CD) by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)(CE) 10 We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah(CF) and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites.(CG) His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide.[f] It is still in Rabbah(CH) of the Ammonites.)

Division of the Land

12 Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer(CI) by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. 13 The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh.(CJ) (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.(CK) 14 Jair,(CL) a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites;(CM) it was named(CN) after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.[g]) 15 And I gave Gilead to Makir.(CO) 16 But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River,(CP) which is the border of the Ammonites. 17 Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah,(CQ) from Kinnereth(CR) to the Sea of the Arabah(CS) (that is, the Dead Sea(CT)), below the slopes of Pisgah.

18 I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given(CU) you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites.(CV) 19 However, your wives,(CW) your children and your livestock(CX) (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid(CY) of them;(CZ) the Lord your God himself will fight(DA) for you.”

23 At that time I pleaded(DB) with the Lord: 24 “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness(DC) and your strong hand. For what god(DD) is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works(DE) you do?(DF) 25 Let me go over and see the good land(DG) beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.(DH)

26 But because of you the Lord was angry(DI) with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah(DJ) and look west and north and south and east.(DK) Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross(DL) this Jordan.(DM) 28 But commission(DN) Joshua, and encourage(DO) and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across(DP) and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.(DQ)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:1 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Deuteronomy 2:23 That is, Crete
  3. Deuteronomy 2:34 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  4. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  5. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  6. Deuteronomy 3:11 That is, about 14 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 4 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  7. Deuteronomy 3:14 Or called the settlements of Jair