The Defeat of King Og

“Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And (A)Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at (B)Edrei. But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand. And you shall do to him as you did to (C)Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ So the Lord our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people, (D)and we struck him down until he had no survivor left. And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, (E)the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. And (F)we devoted them to destruction,[a] as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every (G)city, men, women, and children. But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder. So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon (the Sidonians call (H)Hermon (I)Sirion, while the Amorites call it (J)Senir), 10 all the cities of the (K)tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as (L)Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (For (M)only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of (N)the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in (O)Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits[b] was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the (P)common cubit.[c])

12 “When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning (Q)at Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with (R)its cities. 13 (S)The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is, (T)all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All that portion of Bashan is called the land of (U)Rephaim. 14 (V)Jair the Manassite took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of (W)the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called the villages (X)after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 To Machir (Y)I gave Gilead, 16 and to the Reubenites (Z)and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok, (AA)the border of the Ammonites; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from (AB)Chinnereth as far as (AC)the Sea of the Arabah, (AD)the Salt Sea, under (AE)the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18 “And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. (AF)All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. 19 Only your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (AG)(I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in the cities that I have given you, 20 (AH)until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 And I commanded (AI)Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. 22 You shall not fear them, for it is (AJ)the Lord your God who fights for you.’

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

23 “And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant (AK)your greatness and your mighty hand. For (AL)what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25 Please let me go over and see (AM)the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and (AN)Lebanon.’ 26 But (AO)the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, (AP)‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 (AQ)Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 28 But (AR)charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ 29 So we remained in (AS)the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 3:6 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); twice in this verse
  2. Deuteronomy 3:11 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  3. Deuteronomy 3:11 Hebrew cubit of a man

Israel Defeats the King of Bashan

“We set out and went up along the road to Bashan. Then King Og of Bashan came out to meet us—he and his whole army—for a battle at Edrei. Then the Lord told me, ‘Don’t fear him, because I’ve delivered him, his army, and his territory into your control. Do to him just as you have done to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.’

“So the Lord our God also delivered into our control King Og of Bashan, along with his whole army. We attacked him until there were no survivors.[a] Then we captured all his cities at that time. There was not a city left that we didn’t capture from them—60 cities in all from the region of Argob, which is part of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All of these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars. Furthermore, there were very many unwalled regions. We utterly destroyed them, just as we did King Sihon of Heshbon, attacking them in every city—the men, women, and children. But we kept for ourselves all of the livestock and plunder from the towns.

“So at that time, we took control from the two Amorite kings the territory east of the Jordan from Wadi[b] Arnon to Mount Hermon. (The Sidonians called Hermon Sirion, but the Amorites called it Senir.) 10 We took control of[c] all the cities of the plain, all of Gilead and Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 Only King Og of Bashan remained from the remnants of the Rephaim.[d] In fact, his bed was made of iron. It’s in Rabbah of the Ammonites, isn’t it? It was nine cubits[e] long and four cubits[f] wide.”

Moses Allots Land East of the Jordan(A)

12 “Of the land that we captured at that time, I’ve given its towns to the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad from Aroer near the Wadi[g] Arnon to half of the hill country of Gilead. 13 The remainder of Gilead and Bashan of the kingdom of Og, I’ve given to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (The whole region of Argob—that is, all of Bashan—is called the land of the Rephaim.) 14 Manasseh’s son Jair captured all the Argob region as far as the territory of the descendants of Geshur and the descendants of Maacath. Bashan was named after him; that’s why it is called Havvoth-jair to this day. 15 Furthermore, I’ve given Gilead to Machir. 16 And I’ve given Gilead to the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad as far as the Arnon Valley, designating the middle of the valley as its boundary, including up to the Jabbok River as a boundary with the Ammonites. 17 The Arabah and the Jordan River are also a boundary from Chinnereth[h] to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea),[i] below the slopes of Pisgah on the east.”

Moses Instructs the Men of War

18 “Then I commanded you at that time, ‘The Lord your God gave you this land as a possession. Those equipped for battle—every man a warrior—will cross before your fellow Israelis. 19 However, your women, children, and livestock—and I know you have many—may reside in your towns that I gave you 20 until the Lord grants rest to your fellow Israelis like you. When they take possession of the territory that the Lord your God is about to give them on the other side of the Jordan River, then each of you may return to the territory that I’ve allotted for you.’

21 “I also charged Joshua at that time, ‘You witnessed everything that the Lord your God did to the two kings. Indeed, the Lord will do this to all the kingdoms which you are about to enter. 22 You are not to fear them, because the Lord your God will fight for you.’”

Moses Pleads with God

23 “I pleaded with the Lord at that time, 24 Lord God, you’ve begun to show your greatness and your strong power to your servant. For what god in heaven or on earth can equal your works and mighty deeds? 25 Let me cross over that I may see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River—the good hill country—as well as Lebanon.’

26 “However, the Lord was furious with me because of you. He did not listen to me. Instead, the Lord said, ‘You are not to speak to me about this matter again! 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift your eyes toward the west, north, south, and east. Look with your own eyes, since you won’t be able to cross this Jordan River. 28 Therefore charge Joshua to be doubly strong, because he will lead this people[j] and cause them to inherit the land that you’ll see.’ 29 We then encamped in the valley opposite Beth-peor.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 3:3 Lit. survivors left to him
  2. Deuteronomy 3:8 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
  3. Deuteronomy 3:10 The Heb. lacks We took control of
  4. Deuteronomy 3:11 I.e. a race of giants that formerly populated Canaan; cf. Num 13:22, 33
  5. Deuteronomy 3:11 I.e. about thirteen and a half feet long
  6. Deuteronomy 3:11 I.e. about six feet
  7. Deuteronomy 3:12 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
  8. Deuteronomy 3:17 I.e. the Sea of Galilee
  9. Deuteronomy 3:17 I.e. the Dead Sea
  10. Deuteronomy 3:28 Lit. He will cross over before this people