26 From the Desert of Kedemoth(A) I sent messengers to Sihon(B) king of Heshbon offering peace(C) 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.(D) 28 Sell us food to eat(E) and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot(F) 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(G) your God had made his spirit stubborn(H) and his heart obstinate(I) in order to give him into your hands,(J) 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.”(K)

32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle(L) at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered(M) him over to us and we struck him down,(N) together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed[a](O) them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock(P) and the plunder(Q) from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer(R) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead,(S) not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave(T) us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God,(U) you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites,(V) neither the land along the course of the Jabbok(W) nor that around the towns in the hills.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:34 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

26 I then sent messengers from the Kedemoth desert to Sihon, Heshbon’s king, with words of peace: 27 “Please let us[a] pass through your land. We promise to stay on the road. We won’t step off it, right or left. 28 Please sell us food for money so we can eat; sell us water for money so we can drink. Let us pass through on foot— 29 just as Esau’s descendants who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me—until we cross the Jordan River into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.”

30 But Sihon, Heshbon’s king, wasn’t willing to let us pass through his land because the Lord your God had made his spirit hard and his heart inflexible so that God could hand him over to you, which is exactly how it happened. 31 The Lord said to me: Look! Right now I’m laying Sihon and his land before you. It’s time to take possession of his land!

32 Sihon and all his forces came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz. 33 But the Lord our God gave him to us. We struck him down, along with his sons, and all his forces. 34 At that time, we captured all of Sihon’s cities, and we placed every town—men, women, and children—under the ban.[b] We left no survivors. 35 The only things we kept for ourselves were the animals and the plunder from the towns we had taken. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon Ravine, to the town that is in the valley there,[c] even as far as Gilead, there wasn’t a city that could resist us. The Lord our God laid everything out before us. 37 But you didn’t go near the Ammonite lands or hillside cities alongside the Jabbok River, in compliance with all[d] that the Lord our God had commanded.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:27 Heb here and through 2:29a is singular me, I.
  2. Deuteronomy 2:34 A technique of holy war that often involves total destruction, in which everything that is destroyed is dedicated to the deity who helps in the battle
  3. Deuteronomy 2:36 Heb uncertain
  4. Deuteronomy 2:37 LXX, Tg Jonathan; MT and all