Numbers 21
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Bronze Serpent
21 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, “If thou wilt indeed give this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and gave over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities; so the name of the place was called Hormah.[a]
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient on the way. 5 And 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 loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; 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 every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.[b]
The Journey to Moab
10 And the people of Israel set out, and encamped in Oboth. 11 And they set out from Oboth, and encamped at I′ye-ab′arim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out, and encamped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in 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 valleys of the Arnon,
15 and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the seat of Ar,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
16 And from there they continued to Beer;[c] 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 which the princes dug,
which the nobles of the people delved,
with the scepter and with their staves.”
And from the wilderness they went on to Mat′tanah, 19 and from Mat′tanah to Naha′liel, and from Naha′liel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah which looks down upon the desert.[d]
King Sihon Defeated
21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king 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 a 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. He gathered all his men together, and went out against Israel to the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 24 And Israel slew him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites; for Jazer was the boundary of the Ammonites.[e] 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 ballad singers say,
“Come to Heshbon, let it be built,
let the city of Sihon be established.
28 For fire went forth from Heshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,
the lords of 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,[f] as far as Dibon,
and we laid waste until fire spread to Med′eba.”[g]
King Og Defeated
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages, and dispossessed the Amorites that 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 at Ed′re-i. 34 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 you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” 35 So they slew him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was not one survivor left to him; and they possessed his land.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:3 Heb Destruction
- 21.4-9 The bronze serpent may have been the standard or symbol of the tribe of Levi, to which Moses and Aaron belonged. In Jn 3.14 it becomes a type of the saving cross of Christ.
- Numbers 21:16 That is Well
- Numbers 21:20 Or Jeshimon
- Numbers 21:24 Gk: Heb the boundary of the Ammonites was strong
- Numbers 21:30 Gk: Heb we have shot at them. Heshbon has perished
- Numbers 21:30 Compare Sam and Gk: Heb we have laid waste to Nophah which to Medeba
Números 21
Palabra de Dios para Todos
Conquista de Jormá
21 El rey cananeo de Arad, que vivía en el Néguev, escuchó que los israelitas venían camino de Atarín, los atacó y capturó a algunos de ellos. 2 Entonces los israelitas le hicieron esta promesa al SEÑOR: «Si nos ayudas a derrotar a esta gente, les destruiremos totalmente sus ciudades». 3 El SEÑOR los escuchó y les ayudó a derrotar a los cananeos, y fue así como los israelitas destruyeron completamente a los cananeos y sus ciudades, así que llamaron a ese lugar Jormá[a].
La serpiente de bronce
4 Los israelitas se fueron del monte Hor por el camino del 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 mal de Dios y de Moisés:
—¿Por qué nos sacaste de Egipto para morir en el desierto? Aquí no hay pan ni agua. Ya nos cansamos de esta comida miserable.
6 Entonces el SEÑOR les envió serpientes venenosas que los mordieron e hicieron que murieran muchos israelitas. 7 El pueblo se acercó a Moisés y le dijo:
—Hemos pecado al hablar mal del SEÑOR y de ti. Pídele al SEÑOR que aparte las serpientes de nosotros.
Entonces Moisés oró por el pueblo, 8 y el SEÑOR le dijo a Moisés:
—Haz una serpiente y ponla en un poste. Todo el que haya sido mordido y la mire se salvará.
9 Entonces Moisés hizo una serpiente de bronce y la colocó en un poste. Así que cuando alguien sufría la mordedura de una serpiente, miraba a la serpiente de bronce y se salvaba.
El viaje a Moab
10 Los israelitas continuaron su marcha y acamparon en Obot. 11 Salieron de Obot y acamparon en Iyé Abarín, al oriente del territorio de Moab. 12 Luego se fueron de ahí y acamparon en el valle de Zéred, 13 de donde salieron para acampar al otro lado del río Arnón, que está en el desierto que se extiende desde el territorio de los amorreos. El río Arnón sirve de límite entre Moab y los amorreos. 14 A eso hace referencia El libro de las guerras del SEÑOR donde dice:
«Vaheb en la región de Sufá, los arroyos del río Arnón, 15 la orilla de los arroyos que llevan a la región de Ar y rodean la frontera de Moab».
16 De ahí siguieron hasta Ber[b], el pozo donde el SEÑOR le dijo a Moisés: «Reúne a la gente que yo les daré agua». 17 En esa ocasión los israelitas cantaron esta canción:
«Pozo, ¡brota agua!
Cántenle al pozo,
18 el que los jefes cavaron,
el que los nobles del pueblo perforaron,
con el cetro y con sus bastones».
Luego marcharon del desierto hasta Matana.[c] 19 De Matana[d] fueron a Najaliel, y de Najaliel a Bamot. 20 De Bamot fueron al valle que está en la región de Moab hasta la cumbre del monte Pisgá desde donde puede verse el desierto de Jesimón.
Derrotas del rey Sijón
(Dt 2:26-37; 3:1-11)
21 Los israelitas enviaron mensajeros a decirle al rey Sijón de los amorreos:
22 «Déjenos pasar por sus territorios. No entraremos a sus campos ni viñedos, ni beberemos el agua de sus pozos. Atravesaremos su territorio marchando por el camino principal».
23 Pero Sijón no dejó pasar a Israel por su territorio, sino que reunió a toda su gente y salió a enfrentar a los israelitas en el desierto. Al llegar a Yahaza los atacó, 24 pero los israelitas lo derrotaron y se apoderaron de su territorio desde el río Arnón hasta el río Jaboc, o sea hasta la frontera de los amonitas, que estaba fortificada. 25 Entonces Israel tomó posesión de todas esas ciudades de los amorreos, o sea de Hesbón y sus pueblos de influencia, y comenzó a vivir en ellas. 26 Hesbón era la ciudad del rey amorreo Sijón, quien había peleado contra el rey de Moab y se había apoderado de toda su tierra hasta el río Arnón. 27 Es por esto que los cantantes dicen:
«¡Vengan a Hesbón!
Reconstruyan y edifiquen la ciudad de Sijón.
28 Es que un fuego comenzó en Hesbón
y una llama salió de la ciudad de Sijón.
El fuego destruyó a Ar de Moab,
y quemó[e] las montañas que dominan el Arnón.
29 ¡Pobre de ti, Moab!
¡Estás acabado, pueblo del dios Quemós!
Su dios hizo huir a sus hijos,
y a sus hijas las hizo prisioneras de Sijón, rey de los amorreos.
30 Han muerto sus descendientes[f]
desde Hesbón a Dibón.
Los hemos destruido[g] hasta Nofa,
que está cerca de Medeba».
31 Entonces los israelitas se establecieron en la tierra de los amorreos.
32 Moisés envió también espías a Jazer, y los israelitas capturaron las ciudades vecinas y expulsaron de ahí a los amorreos. 33 Luego los israelitas volvieron en dirección a Basán, pero entonces el rey Og de Basán salió con todo su ejército a enfrentarse con los israelitas en Edrey.
34 Así que el SEÑOR le dijo a Moisés: «No le tengas miedo porque yo te lo entregaré a él, a su ejército y a su territorio. Debes hacer con él lo mismo que hiciste con Sijón, el rey de los amorreos que vivía en Hesbón».
35 Entonces los israelitas mataron a Og, a sus hijos y a todo su ejército, hasta no dejar ningún sobreviviente, y luego ocuparon su territorio.
Footnotes
- 21:3 Jormá Este nombre significa completamente destruido, u ofrenda dada totalmente a Dios.
- 21:16 Ber Este nombre hebreo significa pozo.
- 21:18 Luego […] Matana o Y es un regalo del desierto.
- 21:19 Matana Esta palabra hebrea significa Regalo.
- 21:28 quemó Según LXX (textualmente se tragó). MT tiene señores de. Es cuestión del intercambio de dos letras.
- 21:30 Han muerto sus descendientes Según LXX. TM: Les hemos disparado y fue destruido.
- 21:30 Los hemos destruido Esta expresión también puede referirse al nombre de un lugar, en cuyo caso la traducción sería entonces de Nachim a Nofa….
Numbers 21
New Century Version
War with the Canaanites
21 The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the southern area. When he heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, he attacked them and captured some of them. 2 Then the Israelites made this promise to the Lord: “If you will help us defeat these people, we will completely destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to the Israelites, and he let them defeat the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed the Canaanites and their cities, so the place was named Hormah.[a]
The Bronze Snake
4 The Israelites left Mount Hor and went on the road toward the Red Sea, in order to go around the country of Edom. But the people became impatient on the way 5 and grumbled at God and Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this desert? There is no bread and no water, and we hate this terrible food!”
6 So the Lord sent them poisonous snakes; they bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we grumbled at you and the Lord. Pray that the Lord will take away these snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze snake, and put it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, that person will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then when a snake bit anyone, that person looked at the bronze snake and lived.
The Journey to Moab
10 The Israelites went and camped at Oboth. 11 They went from Oboth to Iye Abarim, in the desert east of Moab. 12 From there they went and camped in the Zered Valley. 13 From there they went and camped across the Arnon, in the desert just inside the Amorite country. The Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. 14 That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says:
“. . . . and Waheb in Suphah, and the ravines,
the Arnon, 15 and the slopes of the ravines
that lead to the settlement of Ar.
These places are at the border of Moab.”
16 The Israelites went from there to Beer; a well is there where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people and I will give them water.”
17 Then the Israelites sang this song:
“Pour out water, well!
Sing about it.
18 Princes dug this well.
Important men made it.
With their scepters and poles, they dug it.”
The people went from the desert to Mattanah. 19 From Mattanah they went to Nahaliel and on to Bamoth. 20 From Bamoth they went to the valley of Moab where the top of Mount Pisgah looks over the desert.
Israel Kills Sihon and Og
21 The Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let us pass through your country. We will not go through any fields of grain or vineyards, or drink water from the wells. We will travel only along the king’s road until we have passed through your country.”
23 But King Sihon would not let the Israelites pass through his country. He gathered his whole army together, and they marched out to meet Israel in the desert. At Jahaz they fought the Israelites. 24 Israel killed the king and captured his land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They took the land as far as the Ammonite border, which was strongly defended. 25 Israel captured all the Amorite cities and lived in them, taking Heshbon and all the towns around it. 26 Heshbon was the city where Sihon, the Amorite king, lived. In the past he had fought with the king of Moab and had taken all the land as far as the Arnon.
27 That is why the poets say:
“Come to Heshbon
and rebuild it;
rebuild Sihon’s city.
28 A fire began in Heshbon;
flames came from Sihon’s city.
It destroyed Ar in Moab,
and it burned the Arnon highlands.
29 How terrible for you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are ruined.
His sons ran away
and his daughters were captured
by Sihon, king of the Amorites.
30 But we defeated those Amorites.
We ruined their towns from Heshbon to Dibon,
and we destroyed them as far as Nophah, near Medeba.”
31 So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.
32 After Moses sent spies to the town of Jazer, they captured the towns around it, forcing out the Amorites who lived there.
33 Then the Israelites went up the road toward Bashan. Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet the Israelites, and they fought at Edrei.
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I will hand him, his whole army, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the Amorite king who lived in Heshbon.”
35 So the Israelites killed Og and his sons and all his army; no one was left alive. And they took his land.
Footnotes
- 21:3 Hormah This name in Hebrew means “completely destroyed.”
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 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.
© 2005, 2015 Bible League International
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
