Wanderings in the Wilderness

(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. And the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north, (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; 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. 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. 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.”’

“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. 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.

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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

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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