The Battle at Bashan

3 When we turned and went up the road toward Bashan, Og king of Bashan and all his army came out to fight us at Edrei. ² The Lord said to me, “Don’t be afraid of Og, because I will hand him, his whole army, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon [Num. 21:33–35].”

³ So the Lord our God gave ·us [^Linto our hands] Og king of Bashan and all his army; we ·defeated [^Lstruck] them and ·left no one alive [there were no survivors]. ⁴ Then we captured all of Og’s cities, all sixty of them, and took the whole area of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan. ⁵ All these were ·strong [fortified] cities, with high walls and ·gates [double doors] with bars. And there were also many small towns with no walls. ⁶ We ·completely destroyed them [devoted them to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17], just like the cities of Sihon king of Heshbon. We killed all the men, women, and children, ⁷ but we kept all the cattle and ·valuable things [plunder] from the cities for ourselves.

⁸ So at that time we took the land ·east of [^Lbeyond] the Jordan River, from the Arnon ·Ravine [Wadi] to Mount Hermon, from these two Amorite kings. ⁹ (Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonian people, but the Amorites call it Senir.) ¹⁰ We captured all the cities on the high plain and all of Gilead, and we took all of Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, towns in Og’s kingdom of Bashan. ¹¹ (Only Og king of Bashan was left of the few ·Rephaites [or Rephaim; Gen. 14:5]. His bed was made of iron, and it was more than ·thirteen feet [^Lnine cubits] long and ·six feet [^Lfour cubits] wide! It is still in the ·Ammonite city [^Lcity of the sons/descendants of Ammon] of Rabbah.)

The Land Is Divided

¹² At that time we took this land to be our own. I gave the people of Reuben and Gad the land from Aroer by the Arnon Ravine, as well as half of the mountain country of Gilead and the cities in it [Num. 32:1–42]. ¹³ To the people of ·East [^Lthe half-tribe of] Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The area of Argob in Bashan was called the land of the ·Rephaites [or Rephaim; Gen. 14:5]. ¹⁴ Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole area of Argob, all the way to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. So that land was named for Jair, and even today Bashan is called the Towns of Jair.) ¹⁵ I gave Gilead to Makir. ¹⁶ I gave the ·Reubenites [^Lsons of Reuben] and the ·Gadites [^Lsons of Gad] the land that begins at Gilead and goes from the Arnon ·Ravine [Wadi] (the middle of the Arnon is the border) to the Jabbok ·River [Wadi], which is the ·Ammonite border [^Lborder of the sons of Ammon]. ¹⁷ The border on the west was the Jordan River in the ·Jordan Valley [^LArabah], and it goes from ·Lake [or the Sea of] ·Galilee [^Lof the Arabah] to the ·Dead [^LSalt] Sea west of Mount Pisgah.

¹⁸ At that time I gave you this command: “The Lord your God has given you this land ·as your own [to possess it]. Now your fighting men must take their weapons, and you must lead ·the other Israelites [^Lyour brothers, the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] across the river. ¹⁹ Your wives, your young children, and your cattle may stay here. I know you have many cattle, and they may stay here in the cities I have given you, ²⁰ until the Lord also gives your ·Israelite relatives [^Lbrothers] a place to rest. They will receive the land the Lord your God has given them on the other side of the Jordan River. After that, you may each return to ·the land I have given you [your possession].”

²¹ Then I gave this command to Joshua at that time: “·You [^LYour eyes] have seen for yourself all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same thing to all the kingdoms where you are ·going [crossing over]. ²² Don’t be afraid of them, because the Lord your God will fight for you.”

Moses Cannot Enter the Land

²³ Then I ·begged [pleaded with] the Lord at that time: ²⁴ “Lord God, you have begun to show me, your servant, ·how great you are [^Lyour greatness and your strong hand]. ·You have great strength, and no [^LWhat…?] other god in heaven or on earth can do the powerful things you do. There is no other god like you. ²⁵ Please let me cross ·the [^Lbeyond the] Jordan River so that I may see the good land by the Jordan. I want to see the beautiful mountains and Lebanon.”

²⁶ But the Lord was angry with me because of you [Num. 20:1–21], and he would not listen to me. The Lord said to me, “That’s enough from you. Don’t talk to me anymore about it. ²⁷ Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah and ·look [^Llift your eyes to the] west, north, south, and east. You can look ·at the land [^Lwith your eyes], but you will not cross the Jordan River [34:1–8]. ²⁸ ·Appoint [Charge; Commission] Joshua and help him be brave and strong. He will lead the people across the river and give them the land that they are to inherit, but you can only look at it.” ²⁹ So we stayed in the ·valley [or glen] opposite Beth Peor.

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “Write this to the ·angel [or messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Ephesus [^Can important city in western Asia Minor]:

“The One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands [^Cthe resurrected Jesus; 1:16, 20] says ·this [^Lthese things]: ² I know ·what you do [^Lyour works], ·how you work hard [^Lyour toil] and ·never give up [^Lyour perseverence/endurance]. I know you do not put up with ·the false teachings of evil people [^Levildoers; or evil]. You have tested those who say they are apostles but really are not, and you found they are ·liars [or false]. ³ You have ·patience [perseverance; endurance] and have ·suffered troubles [endured much] for my name and have not ·given up [^Lgrown weary].

⁴ “But I have this against you: You have ·left [abandoned] ·the love you had in the beginning [or your first love]. ⁵ So ·remember [consider] ·where you were before you fell [^Lhow far you have fallen]. ·Change your hearts [Repent] and do ·what [^Lthe works] you did at first. If you do not ·change [repent], I will come to you and will take away your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But ·there is something you do that is right [^Lthis you have]: You hate what the Nicolaitans do [^Cwe know little about this heresy, which possibly entailed false worship and immorality], as much as I.

⁷ “Every person who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who ·win the victory [overcome; conquer] I will give the right to eat the fruit from the ·tree of life, which is in the ·garden [or paradise] of God [22:2; Gen. 2:9].

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “Write this to the ·angel [or messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Smyrna [^Ca major city in western Asia Minor, identified with present-day Izmir, Turkey]:

“The One who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again [^Cthe resurrected Jesus; 1:17–18], says ·this [^Lthese things]: ⁹ I know your ·troubles [persecution; affliction] and that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the ·bad things [slander; blasphemy] some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue ·that belongs to [^Lof] Satan. ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will ·suffer [be persecuted/afflicted] for ten days [^Cperhaps a symbolic number meaning a significant and definite time]. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the ·crown [^Ca wreath worn to indicate high status or as a reward] of life.

¹¹ “Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who ·win the victory [overcome; conquer] will not be hurt by the second death [^Cthe spiritual death after physical death; 20:6, 14; 21:8].

To the Church in Pergamum

¹² “Write this to the ·angel [messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Pergamum [^Ca rich city in western Asia Minor]:

“The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword [^Cthe resurrected Jesus; 1:16] says this [^Lthese things]: ¹³ I know where you live. It is where Satan has his throne [^Ca reference to false worship; Pergamum was a center of emperor worship]. But you ·are true to me [^Lhold fast to my name]. You did not ·refuse to tell about [deny] your faith in me even during the time of Antipas, my faithful witness who was killed ·in your city [^Lamong you; ^Cwe know nothing further about Antipas], where Satan lives.

¹⁴ “But I have a few things against you: You have some there who follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak how to ·cause the people of Israel to sin [^Lput a stumbling block before the children of Israel] by eating food offered to idols and by taking part in sexual sins [Num. 22—24; 31:8; Deut. 23:4–5; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11]. ¹⁵ You also have some who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans [see 2:6]. ¹⁶ So ·change your hearts and lives [repent]. If you do not, I will come to you quickly and ·fight [make war] against them with the sword that comes out of my mouth [^Cthe judgment he enacts by merely speaking; 1:16].

¹⁷ “Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches.

“I will give some of the hidden manna [^Cperhaps alluding to a Jewish tradition that the manna placed in the ark is hidden until the messianic age; ultimately referring to the spiritual life Christ provides; John 6:32–35] to everyone who ·wins the victory [overcomes; conquers]. I will also give to each one who ·wins the victory [overcomes; conquers] a white stone with a new name written on it [^Can unknown cultural image, which, along with the manna, points to salvation in Christ]. No one knows this new name except the one who receives it [^Cthe name could be God’s or Christ’s, but more likely refers to a new name given to the people of God].

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “Write this to the ·angel [messenger; see 1:20] of the church in ·Thyatira [^Ca small city in western Asia Minor]:

“The Son of God, who has eyes that blaze like fire [1:14] and feet like shining bronze [1:15; ^Cthe resurrected Jesus], says ·this [^Lthese things]: ¹⁹ I know ·what you do [your works]. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your ·patience [endurance; perseverance]. I know that ·you are doing more now than you did at first [^Lyour last works are greater than the first].

²⁰ “But I have this against you: You ·let that woman Jezebel spread false teachings [^Ltolerate the woman Jezebel; ^Cprobably the leader of the Nicolaitans, here given the name of the notorious Baal-worshiping queen; 1 Kin. 16:31–34; 21:25–26; 2 Kin. 9:22]. She ·says she is [calls herself] a prophetess, but ·by her teaching she leads [teaches and misleads/deceives] my ·people [^Lservants] to take part in sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to ·change her heart and turn away from her sin [repent of her sexual immorality], but she does not want to ·change [repent]. ²² ·So [^LLook!] I will throw her on ·a bed of suffering [or a sickbed; ^Cthe bed used for sexual sin is now a bed of suffering]. And all those who take part in adultery with her will suffer greatly if they do not ·turn away from the wrongs she does [repent of her works/deeds]. ²³ I will also kill her ·followers [^Lchildren]. Then all the churches will know I am the One who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you for ·what you have done [your works/deeds].

²⁴ “But ·others [the rest] of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching and have not learned what some call Satan’s deep secrets. I say to you that I will not put any other ·load [burden] on you. ²⁵ Only ·continue in your loyalty [^Lhold fast to what you have] until I come.

²⁶ “I will give ·power [authority] over the nations to everyone who ·wins the victory [overcomes; conquers] and ·continues to be obedient to me [or keeps working for me; ^Lkeeps/obeys my works] until the end.

²⁸ This is the same ·power [authority] I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star [^Cusually the planet Venus as seen before sunrise, but here symbolically Christ at his return; 22:16; Num. 24:17; 2 Pet. 1:19]. ²⁹ Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches.