‘Israel didn’t seize the land of Moab nor the land of the Ammonites. ¹⁶ Here’s what happened:^[c] When Israel came up from Egypt, passed through the desert to the Red^[d] Sea, and arrived at Kadesh, ¹⁷ Israel sent a delegation to the king of Edom and asked him, “Please let us pass through your territory.”

‘But the king of Edom wouldn’t listen. So they also sent word to the king of Moab, but he wouldn’t consent, either. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. ¹⁸ Then they went through the desert, circumventing the territory belonging to Edom and Moab. They encamped on the other side of the Arnon River, but never entered the territory of Moab because the Arnon River is the border of Moab.

¹⁹ ‘Then Israel sent a delegation to Sihon, king of the Amorites and king of Heshbon. Israel requested of him, “Please let us pass through your territory to our place.” ²⁰ But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his territory, so he assembled his entire army, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. ²¹ The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his entire army into the control of Israel, and defeated them. As a result, Israel took control over the entire land of the Amorites, who were living in that country. ²² They took possession of the entire territory of the Amorites from the Arnon River as far as the Jabbok River and from the desert as far as the Jordan River.

²³ ‘Now then, since the Lord God of Israel expelled the Amorites right in front of his people Israel, are you going to control their territory? ²⁴ Don’t you control what your god Chemosh gives you? In the same way, we’ll take control of whomever the Lord our God has driven out in front of us. ²⁵ Also ask yourselves:^[e] do you have a better case^[f] than Zippor’s son Balak, king of Moab? Did he ever have a quarrel with Israel or ever win a^[g] fight against them? ²⁶ When Israel was living in Heshbon and its surrounding villages, in Aroer and its surrounding villages, and in all the cities that line the banks of the Arnon River these past three hundred years, why didn’t you retake them during that time? ²⁷ I haven’t sinned against you, but you are acting wrongly against me by declaring war on me. May the Lord, the Judge, sit in judgment today between the Israelis and the Ammonites.’”