Journey past Ammon

¹⁶ “When all the fighting men had died among the people, ¹⁷ the Lord spoke to me, ¹⁸ ‘Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar. ¹⁹ When you get close to the Ammonites, don’t show any hostility to them or fight with them, for I will not give you any of the Ammonites’ land as a possession; I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’”^(A)

²⁰ This too used to be regarded as the land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim lived there previously, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummim, ²¹ a great and numerous people, tall as the Anakim. The Lord destroyed the Rephaim at the advance of the Ammonites, so that they drove them out and settled in their place. ²² This was just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them; they drove them out and have lived in their place until now. ²³ The Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor,^[a] destroyed the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settled in their place.

Defeat of Sihon the Amorite

²⁴ “The Lord also said, ‘Get up, move out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have handed Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land over to you. Begin to take possession of it; engage him in battle. ²⁵ Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on the peoples everywhere under heaven. They will hear the report about you, tremble, and be in anguish because of you.’