The Wilderness Years

“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. Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country (B)long enough. Turn northward 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. 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. (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. 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.”’ 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. 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.

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Journey past Seir

“Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea,(A) as the Lord had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days. The Lord then said to me, ‘You’ve been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north.(B) Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful. Don’t provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot of it,[a] because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession.(C) You may purchase food from them, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink.(D) For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.(E) He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you these past forty years, and you have lacked nothing.’(F)

Journey past Moab

“So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber.(G) We traveled along the road to the Wilderness of Moab. The Lord said to me, ‘Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’”(H)

10 The Emim, a great and numerous people as tall as the Anakim,(I) had previously lived there. 11 They were also regarded as Rephaim,(J) like the Anakim, though the Moabites called them Emim.(K) 12 The Horites(L) had previously lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out, destroying them completely[b] and settling in their place, just as Israel did in the land of its possession the Lord gave them.

13 “The Lord said, ‘Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.’ So we crossed the Zered Valley.(M) 14 The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley was thirty-eight years until the entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 Indeed, the Lord’s hand was against them, to eliminate(N) them from the camp until they had all perished.(O)

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Footnotes

  1. 2:5 Lit land as far as the width of a sole of a foot
  2. 2:12 Lit them before them