Deuteronomy 2
Easy-to-Read Version
Israel Wanders Through the Desert
2 “Then we did what the Lord told me to do. We went back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea. We traveled for many days to go around the mountains of Seir.[a] 2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have traveled around these mountains long enough. Turn north. 4 Tell the people this: You will pass through the land of Seir. This land belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau. They will be afraid of you. Be very careful. 5 Don’t fight them. I will not give you any of their land—not even a foot of it, because I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau to keep as his own. 6 You must pay the people of Esau for any food you eat or water you drink there. 7 Remember that the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He knows about everything that happened on the trip through this great desert. The Lord your God has been with you these 40 years. You have always had everything you needed.’
8 “So we passed by our relatives, the people of Esau living there in Seir. We left the road that leads from the Jordan Valley to the towns of Elath and Ezion Geber. We turned onto the road that goes to the desert in Moab.
Israel at Ar
9 “The Lord said to me, ‘Don’t bother the Moabites. Don’t start a war against them. I will not give you any of their land. They are the descendants of Lot,[b] and I gave them the city of Ar.’”
10 (In the past, the Emites lived in Ar. They were strong people, and there were many of them. They were very tall, like the Anakites. 11 The Anakites were part of the Rephaites. People thought the Emites were also Rephaites, but the people of Moab called them Emites. 12 The Horites also lived in Seir in the past. Then Esau’s people destroyed the Horites, took their land, and settled there, just as the Israelites did to the people in the land that the Lord gave them.)
13 “The Lord told me, ‘Now, go to the other side of Zered Valley.’ So we crossed Zered Valley. 14 It was 38 years from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until the time we crossed Zered Valley. As the Lord had promised, all the fighting men in our camp from that generation had died. 15 The Lord had opposed those men until they were all dead and gone from our camp.
16 “After all the fighting men were dead and gone, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 ‘Today you must cross the border at Ar and go into Moab. 19 You will be just across from the Ammonites. Don’t bother them or fight with them, because I will not give you their land. They are descendants of Lot, and I have given that land to them.’”
20 (That country is also known as the Land of Rephaim. The Rephaites lived there in the past. The people of Ammon called them the Zamzummites. 21 There were many Rephaites, and they were very strong and tall like the Anakites. But the Lord helped the Ammonites destroy them. The Ammonites took that land and live there now. 22 God did the same thing for Esau’s people. In the past the Horites lived in Seir.[c] But Esau’s people destroyed the Horites, and Esau’s descendants still live there today. 23 God did the same thing for some people from Crete. The Avvites lived in the towns around Gaza, but the Cretans destroyed them, took the land, and live there now.)
Fighting the Amorites
24 “The Lord told me, ‘Get ready to go across Arnon Valley. I will let you defeat Sihon the Amorite, the king of Heshbon. I will let you take his country. So fight against him and take his land. 25 Today I will make all people everywhere afraid of you. They will hear the news about you, and they will be afraid and shake with fear.’
26 “While we were in the desert of Kedemoth, I sent messengers to King Sihon of Heshbon. The messengers offered peace to Sihon. They said, 27 ‘Let us go through your land. We will stay on the road. We will not turn off the road to the right or to the left. 28 We will pay you in silver for any food we eat or any water we drink. We only want to march through your country. 29 Let us go through your land until we go across the Jordan River into the land that the Lord our God is giving us. Other people have let us go through their land—the people of Esau living in Seir and the Moabites living in Ar.’
30 “But King Sihon of Heshbon would not let us pass through his country. The Lord your God had made him very stubborn and ready to fight. The Lord did this so that he could help you defeat King Sihon. And today we know that is what happened.
31 “The Lord said to me, ‘I am giving King Sihon and his country to you. Now, go take his land!’
32 “Then King Sihon and all his people came out to fight against us at Jahaz. 33 But the Lord our God gave him to us. We defeated King Sihon, his sons, and all his people. 34 We captured all the cities that belonged to King Sihon at that time. We completely destroyed the people in every city—the men, women, and children. We did not leave anyone alive! 35 We took only the cattle and the valuable things from those cities. 36 We defeated the town of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley and the other town in the middle of that valley. The Lord let us defeat all the cities between the Arnon Valley and Gilead. No city was too strong for us. 37 But you did not go near the land that belongs to the people of Ammon. You did not go near the shores of the Jabbok River or the cities of the hill country. You did not go near any place that the Lord our God would not let us have.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 2:1 Seir Another name for Edom.
- Deuteronomy 2:9 descendants of Lot Lot’s sons were Moab and Ammon. See Gen. 19:30-38.
- Deuteronomy 2:22 Seir The hill country of Edom.
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)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
