Numbers 21
English Standard Version
Arad Destroyed
21 When (A)the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in (B)the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 (C)And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”[a] 3 And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called (D)Hormah.[b]
The Bronze Serpent
4 From Mount Hor (E)they set out by the way to the Red Sea, (F)to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people (G)spoke against God and against Moses, (H)“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and (I)we loathe this worthless food.” 6 (J)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and (K)they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 (L)And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. (M)Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So (N)Moses made a bronze[c] serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
The Song of the Well
10 And the people of Israel set out and (O)camped in Oboth. 11 (P)And they set out from Oboth and (Q)camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in (R)the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the (S)Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
15 and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the seat of (T)Ar,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
16 And from there they continued (U)to Beer;[d] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that (V)I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
18 the well that the princes made,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with (W)the scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah (X)that looks down on the desert.[e]
King Sihon Defeated
21 Then (Y)Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 (Z)“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King's Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 (AA)But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and (AB)came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 (AC)And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the (AD)Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 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, as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore the (AE)ballad singers say,
“Come to (AF)Heshbon, let it be built;
let the city of Sihon be established.
28 For (AG)fire came out from (AH)Heshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured (AI)Ar of Moab,
and swallowed[f] the heights of the Arnon.
29 (AJ)Woe to you, O Moab!
You are undone, O people of (AK)Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters captives,
to an Amorite king, Sihon.
30 So we overthrew them;
Heshbon, as far as (AL)Dibon, perished;
and we laid waste as far as Nophah;
fire spread as far as (AM)Medeba.”[g]
King Og Defeated
31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out (AN)Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. 33 Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle (AO)at Edrei. 34 (AP)But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And (AQ)you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” 35 So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:2 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verse 3
- Numbers 21:3 Hormah means destruction
- Numbers 21:9 Or copper
- Numbers 21:16 Beer means well
- Numbers 21:20 Or Jeshimon
- Numbers 21:28 Septuagint; Hebrew the lords of
- Numbers 21:30 Compare Samaritan and Septuagint; Hebrew and we laid waste as far as Nophah, which is as far as Medeba
Numbers 21
Christian Standard Bible
Canaanite King Defeated
21 When the Canaanite king of Arad,(A) who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming on the Atharim road, he fought against Israel and captured some prisoners. 2 Then Israel made a vow to the Lord, “If you will hand this people over to us, we will completely destroy their cities.”(B) 3 The Lord listened to Israel’s request and handed the Canaanites over to them, and Israel completely destroyed them and their cities. So they named the place Hormah.[a](C)
The Bronze Snake
4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey. 5 The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous[b] snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.(D)
7 The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.”(E) 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.
Journey around Moab
10 The Israelites set out and camped at Oboth.(F) 11 They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness that borders Moab on the east. 12 From there they went and camped at Zered Valley. 13 They set out from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness that extends from the Amorite border, because the Arnon was the Moabite border between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Lord’s Wars:
Waheb in Suphah
and the ravines of the Arnon,
15 even the slopes of the ravines
that extend to the site of Ar(G)
and lie along the border of Moab.
16 From there they went to Beer,[c] the well the Lord told Moses about, “Gather the people so I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:
Spring up, well—sing to it!
18 The princes dug the well;
the nobles of the people hollowed it out
with a scepter and with their staffs.
They went from the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 from Bamoth to the valley in the territory of Moab near the Pisgah highlands(H) that overlook the wasteland.[d](I)
Amorite Kings Defeated
21 Israel sent messengers to say to King Sihon(J) of the Amorites, 22 “Let us travel through your land. We won’t go into the fields or vineyards. We won’t drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway until we have traveled through your territory.”(K) 23 But Sihon would not let Israel travel through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz,(L) he fought against Israel. 24 Israel struck him with the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok,(M) but only up to the Ammonite border, because it was fortified.[e]
25 Israel took all the cities and lived in all these Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its surrounding villages. 26 Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken control of all his land as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore the poets[f] say:
Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt;
let the city of Sihon be restored.[g]
28 For fire came out of Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon.
It consumed Ar of Moab,
the citizens of Arnon’s heights.
29 Woe to you, Moab!
You have been destroyed, people of Chemosh!(N)
He gave up his sons as refugees,
and his daughters into captivity
to Sihon the Amorite king.
30 We threw them down;
Heshbon has been destroyed as far as Dibon.(O)
We caused desolation as far as Nophah,
which reaches as far as Medeba.(P)
31 So Israel lived in the Amorites’ land. 32 After Moses sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its surrounding villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
33 Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and King Og of Bashan(Q) came out against them with his whole army to do battle at Edrei.(R) 34 But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”(S) 35 So they struck him, his sons, and his whole army until no one was left,[h] and they took possession of his land.(T)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.