Deuteronomy 2
Good News Translation
2 (A)we finally turned and went into the desert, on the road to the Gulf of Aqaba, as the Lord had commanded, and we spent a long time wandering about in the hill country of Edom.
2 “Then the Lord told me 3 that we had spent enough time wandering about in those hills and that we should go north. 4 (B)He told me to give you the following instructions ‘You are about to go through the hill country of Edom, the territory of your distant relatives, the descendants of Esau. They will be afraid of you, 5 but you must not start a war with them, because I am not going to give you so much as a square foot of their land. I have given Edom to Esau's descendants. 6 You may buy food and water from them.’
7 “Remember how the Lord your God has blessed you in everything that you have done. He has taken care of you as you wandered through this vast desert. He has been with you these forty years, and you have had everything you needed.
8 “So we moved on and left the road that goes from the towns of Elath and Eziongeber to the Dead Sea, and we turned northeast toward Moab. 9 (C)The Lord said to me, ‘Don't trouble the people of Moab, the descendants of Lot, or start a war against them. I have given them the city of Ar, and I am not going to give you any of their land.’”
(10 A mighty race of giants called the Emim used to live in Ar. They were as tall as the Anakim, another race of giants. 11 Like the Anakim they were also known as Rephaim; but the Moabites called them Emim. 12 The Horites used to live in Edom, but the descendants of Esau chased them out, destroyed their nation, and settled there themselves, just as the Israelites later chased their enemies out of the land that the Lord gave them.)
13 “Then we crossed the Zered River as the Lord told us to do. 14 (D)This was thirty-eight years after we had left Kadesh Barnea. All the fighting men of that generation had died, as the Lord had said they would. 15 The Lord kept on opposing them until he had destroyed them all.
16 “After they had all died, 17 the Lord said to us, 18 ‘Today you are to pass through the territory of Moab by way of Ar. 19 (E)You will then be near the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. Don't trouble them or start a war against them, because I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given them.’”
(20 This territory is also known as the land of the Rephaim, the name of the people who used to live there; the Ammonites called them Zamzummim. 21 They were as tall as the Anakim. There were many of them, and they were a mighty race. But the Lord destroyed them, so that the Ammonites took over their land and settled there. 22 The Lord had done the same thing for the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in the hill country of Edom. He destroyed the Horites, so that the Edomites took over their land and settled there, where they still live. 23 The land along the Mediterranean coast had been settled by people from the island of Crete. They had destroyed the Avvim, the original inhabitants, and had taken over all their land as far south as the city of Gaza.)
24 “After we had passed through Moab, the Lord told us, ‘Now, start out and cross the Arnon River. I am placing in your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, along with his land. Attack him, and begin occupying his land. 25 From today on I will make people everywhere afraid of you. Everyone will tremble with fear at the mention of your name.’
Israel Defeats King Sihon(F)
26 “Then I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with the following offer of peace: 27 ‘Let us pass through your country. We will go straight through and not leave the road. 28 We will pay for the food we eat and the water we drink. All we want to do is to pass through your country, 29 until we cross the Jordan River into the land that the Lord our God is giving us. The descendants of Esau, who live in Edom, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, allowed us to pass through their territory.’
30 “But King Sihon would not let us pass through his country. The Lord your God had made him stubborn and rebellious, so that we could defeat him and take his territory, which we still occupy.
31 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Look, I have made King Sihon and his land helpless before you; take his land and occupy it.’ 32 Sihon came out with all his men to fight us near the town of Jahaz, 33 but the Lord our God put him in our power, and we killed him, his sons, and all his men. 34 At the same time we captured and destroyed every town, and put everyone to death, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 We took the livestock and plundered the towns. 36 The Lord our God let us capture all the towns from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and the city in the middle of that valley, all the way to Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us. 37 But we did not go near the territory of the Ammonites or to the banks of the Jabbok River or to the towns of the hill country or to any other place where the Lord our God had commanded us not to go.
Deuteronomy 2
English Standard Version
The Wilderness Years
2 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, (A)as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. 2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country (B)long enough. Turn northward 4 and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of (C)your brothers, the people of Esau, (D)who live in Seir; and (E)they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. 5 Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because (F)I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 (G)You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. 7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. (H)He knows your going through this great wilderness. (I)These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’ 8 So (J)we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from (K)the Arabah road from (L)Elath and (M)Ezion-geber.
“And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the Lord said to me, (N)‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given (O)Ar to (P)the people of Lot for a possession.’ 10 ((Q)The Emim formerly lived there, (R)a people great and many, and tall (S)as the Anakim. 11 Like the Anakim they are also counted as (T)Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 (U)The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, (V)as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.) 13 ‘Now rise up and go over (W)the brook Zered.’ So we went over (X)the brook Zered. 14 And the time from our leaving (Y)Kadesh-barnea until we crossed (Z)the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, (AA)until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.
16 “So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 ‘Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, (AB)do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to (AC)the sons of Lot for a possession.’ 20 (It is also counted as a land of (AD)Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— 21 (AE)a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites,[a] and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, 22 as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed (AF)the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. 23 As for (AG)the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as (AH)Gaza, (AI)the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) 24 ‘Rise up, set out on your journey and (AJ)go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of (AK)Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and (AL)contend with him in battle. 25 This day I will begin to put (AM)the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’
The Defeat of King Sihon
26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of (AN)Kedemoth to Sihon the king of (AO)Heshbon, (AP)with words of peace, saying, 27 (AQ)‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. 28 (AR)You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, 29 (AS)as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’ 30 But (AT)Sihon the king of (AU)Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God (AV)hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. 31 And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’ 32 Then (AW)Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33 And (AX)the Lord our God gave him over to us, and (AY)we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction[b] every (AZ)city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. 36 (BA)From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from (BB)the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. (BC)The Lord our God gave all into our hands. 37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river (BD)Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 2:21 Hebrew them
- Deuteronomy 2:34 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
