Números 21
Dios Habla Hoy
Conquista de Hormá
21 Cuando el rey cananeo de la ciudad de Arad, que vivía en el Négueb, oyó decir que los israelitas venían por el camino de Atarim, salió a pelear contra ellos e hizo algunos prisioneros. 2 Entonces los israelitas prometieron al Señor que, si él les ayudaba a conquistar aquel país, ellos destruirían por completo todas sus ciudades. 3 El Señor concedió a los israelitas lo que ellos le habían pedido, y les ayudó a derrotar a los cananeos, y los israelitas destruyeron por completo a los cananeos, lo mismo que a sus ciudades, por lo que a aquel lugar le pusieron por nombre Hormá.
La serpiente de bronce
4 Los israelitas salieron del monte Hor en dirección al Mar Rojo, dando un rodeo para no pasar por el territorio de Edom. En el camino, la gente perdió la paciencia 5 y empezó a hablar contra Dios y contra Moisés. Decían:
—¿Para qué nos sacaron ustedes de Egipto? ¿Para hacernos morir en el desierto? No tenemos ni agua ni comida. ¡Ya estamos cansados de esta comida miserable!
6 El Señor les envió serpientes venenosas, que los mordieron, y muchos israelitas murieron. 7 Entonces fueron a donde estaba Moisés y le dijeron:
—¡Hemos pecado al hablar contra el Señor y contra ti! ¡Pídele al Señor que aleje de nosotros las serpientes!
Moisés pidió al Señor que perdonara a los israelitas, 8 y el Señor le dijo:
—Hazte una serpiente como ésas, y ponla en el asta de una bandera. Cuando alguien sea mordido por una serpiente, que mire hacia la serpiente del asta, y se salvará.
9 Moisés hizo una serpiente de bronce y la puso en el asta de una bandera, y cuando alguien era mordido por una serpiente, miraba a la serpiente de bronce y se salvaba.
Diversas etapas
10 Los israelitas siguieron su camino y acamparon en Obot. 11 De Obot siguieron adelante y acamparon en Iié-abarim, en el desierto, al oriente del territorio de Moab. 12 De allí siguieron y acamparon en el arroyo Zéred. 13 Luego siguieron adelante y acamparon al otro lado del río Arnón. Este río se encuentra en el desierto que se extiende desde el territorio de los amorreos, y sirve de frontera entre el territorio de Moab y el de los amorreos. 14 A eso se refiere lo que dice el Libro de las Guerras del Señor:
«Pasamos por Vaheb, en la región de Sufá,
por los arroyos y por el Arnón,
15 y por la orilla de los arroyos
que se extienden hasta la región de Ar
y llegan hasta la frontera de Moab.»
16 Del río Arnón siguieron hasta Beer. Allí está el pozo donde el Señor dijo a Moisés: «Reúne al pueblo y yo les daré agua.» 17 Fue en esta ocasión cuando los israelitas cantaron:
«¡Brota, agua del pozo!
¡Cántenle al pozo!
18 ¡Los jefes lo cavaron con sus varas de mando,
los nobles del pueblo lo abrieron con sus bastones!»
Del desierto continuaron los israelitas hasta Mataná; 19 de Mataná a Nahaliel, de Nahaliel a Bamot, 20 y de Bamot al valle que está en el territorio de Moab, hacia las alturas de Pisgá, desde donde se ve el desierto.
Israel derrota al rey Sihón(A)
21 Los israelitas mandaron unos mensajeros a Sihón, rey de los amorreos, a que le dijeran: 22 «Quisiéramos pasar por tu territorio. No nos meteremos en los campos sembrados ni en los viñedos, ni beberemos agua de tus pozos. Atravesaremos tu territorio yendo por el camino real.»
23 Pero Sihón no dejó que los israelitas pasaran por su territorio, sino que juntó a toda su gente y salió al encuentro de ellos en el desierto, y al llegar a Jahas los atacó. 24 Pero los israelitas se defendieron y lo derrotaron, y ocuparon su territorio desde el río Arnón hasta el río Jaboc, es decir, hasta la frontera con el territorio de los amonitas, la cual estaba fortificada. 25 Así pues, Israel ocupó todas esas ciudades de los amorreos, es decir, Hesbón y sus pueblos dependientes, y se quedó a vivir en ellas. 26 Hesbón era la ciudad donde vivía Sihón, el rey de los amorreos. Sihón había estado en guerra con el anterior rey de Moab y le había quitado todo aquel territorio hasta el río Arnón. 27 Por eso dicen los poetas:
«¡Vengan a Hesbón,
la capital del rey Sihón!
¡Reconstrúyanla, fortifíquenla!
28 Desde Hesbón, la ciudad de Sihón,
brotaron las llamas de un incendio,
que destruyeron a Ar de Moab
y las alturas que dominan el Arnón.
29 ¡Lástima de ti, Moab!
¡Estás perdido, pueblo del dios Quemós!
Él ha dejado que tus hombres salgan huyendo,
que tus mujeres caigan en poder del rey Sihón.
30 Fue destruido el poder de Hesbón;
de Dibón a Nófah todo quedó en ruinas,
y el fuego llegó hasta Medebá.»
Israel derrota a Og, rey de Basán(B)
31 Así pues, Israel ocupó el territorio amorreo. 32 Además, Moisés envió algunos hombres a explorar la ciudad de Jazer, y los israelitas conquistaron las ciudades vecinas y expulsaron a los amorreos que vivían allí. 33 Después volvieron en dirección de Basán, pero Og, el rey de Basán, salió con todo su ejército a pelear contra ellos en Edrei. 34 Entonces el Señor dijo a Moisés: «No le tengas miedo, que yo voy a ponerlo en tus manos, junto con todo su ejército y su país, y tú harás con él lo mismo que hiciste con Sihón, el rey amorreo que vivía en Hesbón.»
35 Y así, los israelitas mataron a Og y a sus hijos, y a todo su ejército. No dejaron a nadie con vida, y se apoderaron de su territorio.
Numbers 21
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
The Bronze Serpent
21 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, ‘If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns.’ 3 The Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their towns; so the place was called Hormah.[a]
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea,[b] to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’ 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous[c] serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous[d] serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
The Journey to Moab
10 The Israelites set out, and camped in Oboth. 11 They set out from Oboth, and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness bordering Moab towards the sunrise. 12 From there they set out, and camped in the Wadi Zered. 13 From there they set out, and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in[e] the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Wherefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
‘Waheb in Suphah and the wadis.
The Arnon 15 and the slopes of the wadis
that extend to the seat of Ar,
and lie along the border of Moab.’[f]
16 From there they continued to Beer;[g] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather the people together, and I will give them water.’ 17 Then Israel sang this song:
‘Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
18 the well that the leaders sank,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the sceptre, with the staff.’
From the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that overlooks the waste-land.[h]
King Sihon Defeated
21 Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying, 22 ‘Let me pass through your land; we will not turn aside into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of any well; we will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.’ 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel to the wilderness; he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 24 Israel put him to the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites; for the boundary of the Ammonites was strong. 25 Israel took all these towns, and Israel settled in all the towns of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and captured all his land as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore the ballad-singers say,
‘Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
let the city of Sihon be established.
28 For fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,
and swallowed up[i] the heights of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, O Moab!
You are undone, O people of Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters captives,
to an Amorite king, Sihon.
30 So their posterity perished
from Heshbon[j] to Dibon,
and we laid waste until fire spread to Medeba.’[k]
31 Thus Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. 32 Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they captured its villages, and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.
King Og Defeated
33 Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan; and King Og of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 But the Lord said to Moses, ‘Do not be afraid of him; for I have given him into your hand, with all his people, and all his land. You shall do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.’ 35 So they killed him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left; and they took possession of his land.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:3 Heb Destruction
- Numbers 21:4 Or Sea of Reeds
- Numbers 21:6 Or fiery; Heb seraphim
- Numbers 21:8 Or fiery; Heb seraph
- Numbers 21:13 Gk: Heb which is in
- Numbers 21:15 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Numbers 21:16 That is Well
- Numbers 21:20 Or Jeshimon
- Numbers 21:28 Gk: Heb and the lords of
- Numbers 21:30 Gk: Heb we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished
- Numbers 21:30 Compare Sam Gk: Meaning of MT uncertain
Numbers 21
King James Version
21 And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
10 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth.
11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.
12 From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared.
13 From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab.
16 And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
17 Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
18 The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:
20 And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.
21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king's high way, until we be past thy borders.
23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof.
26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.
27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and og the king of bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at edrei.
34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.
35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
Dios habla hoy ®, © Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas, 1966, 1970, 1979, 1983, 1996.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.