Numbers 21
Jubilee Bible 2000
21 ¶ And when King Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt toward the Negev, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the sentinels; then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners.
2 Then 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 Canaanite; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities, and he called the name of the place Hormah. {Heb. destruction}
4 ¶ And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom, and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread.
6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.
7 Then 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 these serpents from among us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent and lift it up as a banner, and it shall be that anyone that is bitten and looks upon it shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it up as a banner, and it came to pass that when a serpent bit anyone, he beheld the serpent of brass, and lived.
10 ¶ And the sons of Israel set forward and pitched camp in Oboth.
11 And they journeyed from Oboth and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the rising of the sun.
12 From there 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 comes out of the borders of the Amorite; for Arnon is the border of Moab between Moab and the Amorite.
14 Therefore it is said in the book of the battles 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 goes down to the dwelling of Ar, and lies upon the border of Moab.
16 And from there they went to Beer; this is the well of which the LORD spoke 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 dug the well, the willing people dug it, and 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 fields of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks 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 wells; but we will go along by the king’s high way until we are past thy borders.
23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border; instead 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 sons of Ammon, for the border of the sons 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 out of his hand all his land unto Arnon.
27 Therefore those 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 has 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 has put thy sons to flight and thy daughters into captivity because of Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 And Heshbon destroyed their kingdom even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah and Medeba.
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorite.
32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof and drove out the Amorite that was 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 Then 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, who 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.
Numbers 21
Complete Jewish Bible
21 Then the king of ‘Arad, a Kena‘ani who lived in the Negev, heard that Isra’el was approaching by way of Atarim, so he attacked Isra’el and took some of them captive. 2 Isra’el made a vow to Adonai, “If you will hand this people over to me, I will completely destroy their cities.” 3 Adonai listened to what Isra’el said and handed over the Kena‘anim, so they completely destroyed them and their cities and named the place Hormah [complete destruction].
4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor on the road toward the Sea of Suf in order to go around the land of Edom; but the people’s tempers grew short because of the detour. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moshe: “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To die in the desert? There’s no real food, there’s no water, and we’re sick of this miserable stuff we’re eating!”
(LY: vi) 6 In response, Adonai sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Isra’el’s people died. 7 The people came to Moshe and said, “We sinned by speaking against Adonai and against you. Pray to Adonai that he rid us of these snakes.” Moshe prayed for the people, 8 and Adonai answered Moshe: “Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live.” 9 Moshe made a bronze snake and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze snake, he stayed alive.
10 The people of Isra’el traveled on and camped at Ovot. 11 From Ovot they traveled and camped at ‘Iyei-Ha‘avarim, in the desert fronting Mo’av on the east. 12 From there they traveled and camped in Vadi Zered. 13 From there they traveled and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the desert; this river comes out of the territory of the Emori; for the Arnon is the boundary between Mo’av and the Emori. 14 This is why it says, in the Book of the Wars of Adonai, “. . . Vahev at Sufah, the vadis of Arnon, 15 and the slope of the vadis extending as far as the site of ‘Ar, which lie next to the territory of Mo’av.”
16 From there they went on to Be’er [well]; that is the well about which Adonai said to Moshe, “Assemble the people, and I will give them water.” 17 Then Isra’el sang this song:
“Spring up, oh well!
Sing to the well
18 sunk by the princes,
dug by the people’s leaders
with the scepter,
with their staffs!”
From the desert they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nachali’el, from Nachali’el to Bamot, 20 and from Bamot to the valley by the plain of Mo’av at the start of the Pisgah range, where it overlooks the desert.
(RY: iv, LY: vii) 21 Isra’el sent messengers to Sichon, king of the Emori, with this message: 22 “Let me pass through your land. We won’t turn aside into fields or vineyards, and we won’t drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King’s Highway until we have left your territory.” 23 But Sichon would not allow Isra’el to pass through his territory. Instead, Sichon mustered all his people and went out into the desert to fight Isra’el. On reaching Yachatz, he fought Isra’el. 24 Isra’el defeated him by force of arms and took control of his land from the Arnon to the Yabok River, but only as far as the people of ‘Amon, because the territory of the people of ‘Amon was well defended. 25 Isra’el took all these cities — Isra’el lived in all the cities of the Emori, in Heshbon and all its surrounding towns. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sichon, the king of the Emori, who had fought against the former king of Mo’av and conquered all his land up to the Arnon. 27 This is why the storytellers say,
“Come to Heshbon! Let it be rebuilt!
Let Sichon’s city be restored!
28 “For fire burst out of Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sichon.
It consumed ‘Ar of Mo’av,
the lords of Arnon’s high places.
29 “Woe to you, Mo’av!
You are destroyed, people of K’mosh!
He let his sons be fugitives and his daughters captives
of Sichon, king of the Emori.
30 “We shot them down; Heshbon is destroyed,
all the way to Divon.
We even laid waste to Nofach,
which extends as far as Meidva.”
31 Thus Isra’el lived in the land of the Emori.
32 Moshe sent men to reconnoiter Ya‘zer; they captured its towns and drove out the Emori who were there.
33 Then they turned and went up along the road to Bashan; and ‘Og, the king of Bashan, marched out against them, he with all his people, to fight at Edre‘i. (LY: Maftir) 34 Adonai said to Moshe, “Don’t be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with all his people and his land. You will treat him just as you did Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived at Heshbon.” 35 So they struck him down, with his sons and all his people, until there was no one left alive; and then they took control of his land.
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.