The Defeat of King Sihon

26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of (A)Kedemoth to Sihon the king of (B)Heshbon, (C)with words of peace, saying, 27 (D)‘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 (E)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 (F)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 (G)Sihon the king of (H)Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God (I)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 (J)Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33 And (K)the Lord our God gave him over to us, and (L)we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction[a] every (M)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 (N)From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from (O)the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. (P)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 (Q)Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:34 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)

Israel Defeats Sihon, King of Heshbon

26 “I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with this message of peace: 27 ‘Let me pass through your territory. I’ll stay on the main road. I won’t turn to the right or left. 28 Sell me food for cash,[a] so I can eat and give me water for cash,[b] so I can drink. Just let me pass through on foot, 29 as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir did for me, as did the Moabites who live in Ar. I’ll pass through,[c] until I will have crossed the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is about to give us.’ 30 But King Sihon of Heshbon did not allow us to pass through, because the Lord your God had hardened his spirit and made him arrogant,[d] in order to deliver him into your control today.

31 “Then the Lord told me, ‘See, I’ve begun to deliver Sihon and his territory over to you. Prepare to take possession of his land.’

32 “Sihon came out to meet us, including his entire army, at the battle of Jahaz. 33 The Lord our God delivered him to us, so we attacked him, his son, and his whole army. 34 We captured all his towns at that time. We utterly destroyed every town—the men, the women, and the children—leaving no survivors. 35 We only appropriated the livestock for our use, along with plunder from the cities that we captured. 36 From Aroer on the edge of Arnon Valley and from the town all the way to Gilead, there was no city that was too strong for us—the Lord our God delivered them all to us. 37 You did not encroach onto Ammonite land, the banks of the Wadi[e] Jabbok, the towns in the hill country, and all the other places that were forbidden[f] by the Lord our God.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:28 Lit. silver
  2. Deuteronomy 2:28 Lit. silver
  3. Deuteronomy 2:29 The Heb. lacks I’ll pass through
  4. Deuteronomy 2:30 Lit. and emboldened his heart
  5. Deuteronomy 2:37 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
  6. Deuteronomy 2:37 Lit. commanded