Deuteronomy 2
The Voice
2 Moses: Finally we did as the Eternal had commanded me, and we headed back into the wilderness toward the Red Sea.[a] For a long time, we wandered around Mount Seir, 2 until at last I got new instructions from the Eternal: 3 “You’ve wandered around this mountain long enough. Turn north, 4 and give the people these directions from Me: ‘You’re going to cross into the territory of a people who are related to you. They’re the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They’ll be afraid of you, so be very careful what you do. 5 Don’t incite a fight with them because I won’t give you even a square foot of their land. I gave Mount Seir to Esau, and I want his descendants to live there. 6 ‘You may purchase food from them with silver and eat; you may buy water from them with silver and drink.’” 7 You are not to plunder this nation because the Eternal your God, has blessed you in every way. He’s watched over you as you’ve journeyed through this vast wilderness. Throughout these 40 years, the Eternal your God has been with you, and you haven’t lacked a thing.
8 So we traveled peacefully past our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We left the road through the arid valley,[b] bypassing Elath and Ezion-geber, and took the desert road to Moab. 9 There the Eternal gave me more instructions: “Don’t attack the Moabites, and don’t fight any battles with them because I’m not going to give you any of Moab’s land. I gave Ar to these descendants of Lot, so it belongs to them.”
10 The Emim were formerly living in Ar. They were a large and powerful nation, and they were as tall as the giant Anakim were. 11 They and the Anakim are usually known as “Rephaim,” but the Moabites call them just “Emim.” 12 The Horites were formerly living in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. The Edomites destroyed them and took their place, just as Israel did in the land the Eternal gave them as their possession, saying, 13 “Now cross the Wadi Zered into their territory.”
Moses: So we crossed the Zered Valley. 14 At that point, we’d been traveling for 38 years, from Kadesh-barnea to the Zered Valley. The last of the people in our camp who had been old enough to fight back then, those men of war, finally died. The Eternal had sworn to them that none of them would be left among us when we did enter the land, and this happened just as He said. 15 The Eternal struck them with one disaster after another inside the camp until they were all dead.
16 Just as soon as the last man of war was gone, 17 the Eternal spoke to me: 18 “Today you will pass into the territory of Moab when you cross Ar. 19 When you get to the other side, you’ll be facing the descendants of Ammon. Don’t attack them, and don’t fight any battles with them because I’m not going to give you any of Ammon’s land. I already gave this land to these descendants of Lot, so it belongs to them.”
20 The land of the Ammonites is also considered the land of the Rephaim because the Rephaim (whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummin) were formerly living in it. 21 They, too, were a large and powerful nation, as tall as the Anakim, but the Eternal destroyed them so the Ammonites could take their place. 22 He did the same thing for the descendants of Esau who now live in Seir: He destroyed the Horites so the Edomites could take their place. Esau’s descendants are still living in Seir. 23 In the same way, some Caphtorim came from Caphtor[c] and destroyed the Avvim, who were the first to live in villages as far away as Gaza, and took their place.
Moses: 24 The Lord continued, saying, “Get up, get going, and move on through the Arnon Valley. Listen: I’m going to defeat Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, for you; I’ll give you his land as the beginning of your new territory. Go get it, and attack him! 25 Starting today, I’m going to make every nation under the sky terrified of you. When they hear about you, they will tremble and despair.”
Episodes like the one described in 2:34-35, in which entire populations are wiped out, are among the most deeply troubling parts of the Bible. Particularly when this is done under the leadership of people appointed by God, or even on God’s direct instructions, many serious questions are raised. How is this consistent with God’s mercy? Interpreters have taken different approaches to try to account for episodes like these, but many problems still remain.
Perhaps the best that can be done is to acknowledge that the Bible presents us with a mixture of materials. Mostly God’s mercy, kindness, and forgiveness are stressed; but sometimes we do see judgments of God, whether through natural forces such as flood and fire, or through human armies, carried out against entire populations. Which of these attributes, mercy or justice, most essentially characterizes God? Which passages should we consider normative for our own guidance today, and which ones should we see as exceptional and interpret in light of the others? Discerning why and how these exceptional circumstances arose remains a matter for thoughtful students of the Bible to reflect on with reverence and concern.
26 We were in the wilderness of Kedemoth when I sent messengers to King Sihon in Heshbon and offered him these terms of peace: 27 “Allow me to go across your land. I’ll keep to the King’s Highway; I won’t turn off to the right or to the left. 28 I ask only for these rights: sell me food and water for silver, so that I can eat and so that I can drink. Just let me walk across your land. 29 The descendants of Esau who live in Seir let me pass through their territory this way, and so did the Moabites who live in Ar. I’ll keep going right to the Jordan River, where I’ll cross into the land the Eternal, our True God, is giving to us.” 30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us go through his land marching so close to his capital. The Eternal your God made him stubborn and obstinate so that he would fight and be defeated by you, and that’s just what happened. 31 The Eternal told me, “Look! I have already begun to hand Sihon and his land over to you. Go and take it! His land will be the first of your new territories.” 32 Then Sihon and his whole army came out to fight against us at Jahaz. 33 The Eternal, our True God, defeated him for us; we destroyed Sihon and his sons and his whole army. 34 We captured all his cities at that time, and we killed all the men, women, and children in each one of them. We didn’t leave a single survivor. 35 We kept only the livestock as our plunder, along with the loot from the cities we had captured. 36 Not a single city was strong enough to keep us out—from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, including the settlement down in the valley, all the way to Gilead! The Eternal our God gave all of them to us. 37 But you didn’t go near the land of the Ammonites along the Jabbok River, or toward their cities in the highlands, or anywhere else the Eternal our God told 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)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
