Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Print Page Options Listen to Deuteronomy 2
Close NKJV

Deuteronomy 2
New King James Version

The Desert Years

2 “Then we turned and (A)journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, (B)as the Lord spoke to me, and we [a]skirted Mount Seir for many days.

2 “And the Lord spoke to me, saying: 3 ‘You have skirted this mountain (C)long enough; turn northward. 4 And command the people, saying, (D)“You are about to pass through the territory of (E)your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. 5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, (F)because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You shall buy 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 hand. He knows your [b]trudging through this great wilderness. (G)These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’

8 “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from (H)Elath and Ezion Geber, we (I)turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab. 9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given (J)Ar to (K)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

10 (L)(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as (M)the Anakim. 11 They were also regarded as [c]giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 (N)The Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their [d]place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lord gave them.)

13 “ ‘Now rise and cross over (O)the [e]Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered. 14 And the time we took to come (P)from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, (Q)until all the generation of the men of war [f]was consumed from the midst of the camp, (R)just as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they [g]were consumed.

16 “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, 17 that the Lord spoke to me, saying: 18 ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab. 19 And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle 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 (S)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

20 (That was also regarded as a land of [h]giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them (T)Zamzummim, 21 (U)a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, 22 just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, (V)who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed (W)the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day. 23 And (X)the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza—(Y)the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)

24 “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and (Z)cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand (AA)Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin [i]to possess it, and engage him in battle. 25 (AB)This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations [j]under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall (AC)tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

King Sihon Defeated(AD)

26 “And I (AE)sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, (AF)with words of peace, saying, 27 (AG)‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left. 28 You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; (AH)only let me pass through on foot, 29 (AI)just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us.’

30 (AJ)“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for (AK)the Lord your God (AL)hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.

31 “And the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to (AM)give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’ 32 (AN)Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz. 33 And (AO)the Lord our God delivered him [k]over to us; so (AP)we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. 34 We took all his cities at that time, and we (AQ)utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining. 35 We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we took. 36 (AR)From Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from (AS)the city that is in the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; (AT)the Lord our God delivered all to us. 37 Only you did not go near the land of the people of Ammon—anywhere along the River (AU)Jabbok, or to the cities of the mountains, or (AV)wherever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:1 circled around
  2. Deuteronomy 2:7 Lit. goings
  3. Deuteronomy 2:11 Heb. rephaim
  4. Deuteronomy 2:12 stead
  5. Deuteronomy 2:13 Wadi or Brook
  6. Deuteronomy 2:14 perished
  7. Deuteronomy 2:15 perished
  8. Deuteronomy 2:20 Heb. rephaim
  9. Deuteronomy 2:24 to take possession
  10. Deuteronomy 2:25 everywhere under the heavens
  11. Deuteronomy 2:33 Lit. before us
Listen to Deuteronomy 2
Close NIV

Deuteronomy 2
New International Version

Wanderings in the Wilderness

2 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)

2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;(C) now turn north. 4 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. 5 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) 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

7 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)

8 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)

9 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.

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.
Listen to Deuteronomy 2
Close NASB

Deuteronomy 2
New American Standard Bible

Wanderings in the Wilderness

2 “(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. 2 And the Lord spoke to me, saying, 3 ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north, 4 (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; 5 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. 6 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. 7 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.”’

8 “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. 9 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.

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
Listen to Deuteronomy 2
Close KJV

Deuteronomy 2
King James Version

2 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

2 And the Lord spake unto me, saying,

3 Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

7 For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

8 And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9 And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.

10 The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites called them Emims.

12 The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them.

13 Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.

14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them.

15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17 That the Lord spake unto me, saying,

18 Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

22 As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

23 And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.

28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;

29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

31 And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33 And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us:

37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.

Close EASY

Deuteronomy 2
EasyEnglish Bible

40 years in the desert

2 Then we turned back to travel towards the desert. We went along the road to the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me. For many days, we walked around the region of Mount Seir.[a]

2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have walked round this mountain for a long time. Now turn to the north. 4 Give this message to the Israelites: “You will soon go through the country that belongs to Esau's descendants. They have the same ancestors that you have. They live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful.[b] 5 Do not attack them at all. I will not give any of their land to you, not even enough ground to put your foot on. I have given the hills around Mount Seir to Esau, for his descendants to live there. 6 When you eat their food and you drink their water, you must pay them for it. 7 I, the Lord your God, have blessed you in everything that you have done. I have taken care of you as you travelled through this great desert. I have been with you for 40 years. You have received everything that you needed.” ’

8 So we went on. We passed the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They have the same ancestors that we have. We left the road through the Jordan Valley that goes from Elath and Ezion-Geber. Instead, we travelled on the road through the Moab desert.

9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not make the people of Moab angry. Do not start a fight against them. I will not give any part of their land to you. I have given Ar to Lot's descendants to be their city.’[c]

10 (Some people called the Emites once lived there. There were many of them and they were as strong and tall as the Anakites. 11 Some people called the Emites and the Anakites, ‘Rephaites’. But the people from Moab called them ‘Emites’. 12 Before this time, the Horites lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau chased them away. They destroyed the Horites and they lived in their country. The Israelites did the same thing to the people who had lived in the land that the Lord gave to them.)

13 Then the Lord said, ‘Get up now and cross the Zered valley.’ So we went across the stream.

14 38 years had passed since we left Kadesh-Barnea. By the time we crossed the Zered valley, all the men who had been old enough to fight had now died. The Lord had said that this would happen.[d] 15 The Lord himself removed them so that they all died, one by one.

16 Finally, the last one of these men died and no longer lived among the people. 17 Then the Lord said to me, 18 ‘Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 You will go into the land of the Ammonites. Do not make them angry so that they fight against you. I will not give any of their land to you. I have already given it to Lot's descendants so that they can live there.’

20 (People also call this region the land of the Rephaites, who had once lived there. The Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 There were many Zamzummites and they were as tall and strong as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed the Rephaites when the Ammonites moved in. Then the Ammonites lived there instead of the Rephaites. 22 The Lord had done the same thing for Esau's descendants who lived in Seir. The Lord destroyed the Horites when Esau's descendants moved in and chased them out. Esau's descendants still live in their country today. 23 The same thing happened to the Avvites.[e] They had lived in villages as far west as Gaza. But Philistines came from Crete island and they killed the Avvites. The Philistines lived there instead.)

24 Then God said, ‘Now go across Arnon valley. Look, I have given you the land of King Sihon, the Amorite. He is the king of Heshbon. You must go and fight against him. Attack him and take his land for yourselves. 25 Today I will begin to make all the people in the world afraid of you. They will hear reports about you. That will cause them to be very frightened. They will shake with fear!’

Sihon, king of Heshbon

26 When we were in Kedemoth desert, I sent a message to Sihon, king of Heshbon. We wanted to agree that we would not fight against each other. 27 I said to him, ‘Please let us go through your country. We will only travel along the road. We will not turn away from the road, to the right side or to the left side. 28 Please sell us food to eat and water to drink. We will pay you with silver coins. We only want to walk through your country. 29 The descendants of Esau who live in Seir let us do this. So did the descendants of Moab who live in Ar. We will go through your country and then we will cross the Jordan River. We will go into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’

30 But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, refused to let us travel through his country. He was too proud to agree with us. The Lord our God had caused him to be like that. He wanted to put King Sihon under your power and give his land to you. You still live in his land today.

31 The Lord said to me, ‘Look! I have begun to give King Sihon and his country to you. Now you must begin to fight against him and take his land for yourselves.’

32 Then Sihon and all his army came out to fight a battle against us at Jahaz. 33 The Lord our God put him under our power. We won the battle against him. We killed King Sihon and his sons and all his soldiers. 34 At that time we took all his towns and we gave everything as a gift to the Lord. We killed the men, women and children. We left no one alive. 35 But we kept the farm animals and other valuable things in the cities for ourselves. 36 The Lord our God gave us all their towns. That included Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley, the city in the valley and other towns all the way to Gilead. No town was too strong for us to take.

37 But we did not go into the Ammonites' country. We did not go into the Jabbok valley. We did not go near the towns in the hill country. The Lord our God had commanded us not to attack those places.

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Mount Seir was in Edom.
  2. 2:4 Esau was the brother of Jacob. We can read about the birth of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25:19-27. The Israelites were the descendants of Jacob. So they should not fight against the descendants of Esau.
  3. 2:9 Lot was a nephew of Abraham. Lot's descendants were the Moabites and the Ammonites. We can read about Lot in Genesis 12:4-5.
  4. 2:14 See Deuteronomy 1:35.
  5. 2:23 The Avvites were a group of people who lived near Canaan.
Next
Deuteronomy 1
Deuteronomy 3
Next
dropdown
New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Learn the Bible in 30 days
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain

EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.