Numbers 21
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
21 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelt in the South (the Negeb), heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim [the route traveled by the spies sent out by Moses], he fought against Israel and took some of them captive.
2 And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
3 And the Lord hearkened to Israel and gave over the Canaanites. And they utterly destroyed them and their cities; and the name of the place was called Hormah [a banned or devoted thing].
4 And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom, and the people became impatient (depressed, much discouraged), because [of the trials] of the way.
5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and we loathe this light (contemptible, unsubstantial) manna.
6 Then the Lord sent fiery (burning) serpents among the people; and they bit the people, and many Israelites 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 may take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole, and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the serpent of bronze [[a]attentively, expectantly, with a steady and absorbing gaze], he lived.
10 And the Israelites journeyed on and encamped at Oboth.
11 They journeyed from Oboth and encamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness opposite Moab, toward the sunrise.
12 From there they journeyed and encamped in the Valley of Zared.
13 From there they journeyed and encamped on the other side of [the river] Arnon, which is in the desert or wilderness that extends from the frontier of the Amorites; for [the river] Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14 That is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of [the branches of] the Arnon [River],
15 And the slope of the valleys that stretch toward the site of Ar and find support on the border of Moab.
16 From there the Israelites went on to Beer [a well], the well of which the Lord had said to Moses, Assemble the people together and I will give them water.(A)
17 Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well! Let all sing to it,(B)
18 The fountain that the princes opened, that the nobles of the people hollowed out from their staves. And from the wilderness or desert [Israel journeyed] to Mattanah,
19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
20 And from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down upon Jeshimon and the desert.
21 And 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 the wells. We will go by the king’s highway until we have passed your border.
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 came to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel.
24 And Israel smote the king of the Amorites with the edge of the sword and possessed his land from the river Arnon to the river Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the boundary of the Ammonites was strong.
25 And Israel took all these cities and dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its towns.
26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon 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 river] Arnon.
27 That is why those who sing ballads say, Come to Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and established.
28 For fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it has devoured Ar of Moab and the lords of the heights of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, O people of [the god] Chemosh! Moab has given his sons as fugitives and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 We have shot them down; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon, and we have laid them waste as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.
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 who were there.
33 Then 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 battle at Edrei.
34 But the Lord said to Moses, Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.
35 So the Israelites slew Og and his sons and all his people until there was not one left alive, And they possessed his land.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:9 Jesus said that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, “that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him and relies on Him] may not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever!” (John 3:14, 15). Obviously this implies that the look that caused the victim of a fiery serpent to be healed was something far more than a casual glance. A “look” would save, but what kind of a look? The Hebrew text here means “look attentively, expectantly, with a steady and absorbing gaze.” Or, as Jesus said in the last verse of the chapter quoted above (John 3:36), “He who believes in (has faith in, clings to, relies on) the Son has (now possesses) eternal life.” But whoever does not so believe in, cling to, and rely on the Son “will never see... life.” The look that saves is not just a fleeting glance; it is a God-honoring, God-answered, fixed, and absorbing gaze!
Numbers 21
New King James Version
Canaanites Defeated at Hormah
21 The (A)king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 (B)So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then (C)I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called [a]Hormah.
The Bronze Serpent
4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to (D)go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very [b]discouraged on the way. 5 And the people (E)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 our soul [c]loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So (F)the Lord sent (G)fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7 (H)Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have (I)sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; (J)pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, (K)“Make a (L)fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So (M)Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
From Mount Hor to Moab
10 Now the children of Israel moved on and (N)camped in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at [d]Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 (O)From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for (P)the 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:
[e]“Waheb in Suphah,
The brooks of the Arnon,
15 And the slope of the brooks
That reaches to the dwelling of (Q)Ar,
And lies on the border of Moab.”
16 From there they went (R)to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 (S)Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!
All of you sing to it—
18 The well the leaders sank,
Dug by the nation’s nobles,
By the (T)lawgiver, with their staves.”
And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the [f]country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks (U)down on the [g]wasteland.
King Sihon Defeated(V)
21 Then (W)Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 (X)“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 (Y)But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and [h]went out against Israel in the wilderness, (Z)and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then (AA)Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. 25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel (AB)dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in [i]proverbs say:
“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
Let the city of Sihon be repaired.
28 “For (AC)fire went out from Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon;
It consumed (AD)Ar of Moab,
The lords of the (AE)heights of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, (AF)Moab!
You have perished, O people of (AG)Chemosh!
He has given his (AH)sons as fugitives,
And his (AI)daughters into captivity,
To Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 “But we have shot at them;
Heshbon has perished (AJ)as far as Dibon.
Then we laid waste as far as Nophah,
Which reaches to (AK)Medeba.”
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 Then Moses sent to [j]spy out (AL)Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
King Og Defeated(AM)
33 (AN)And they turned and went up by the way to (AO)Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle (AP)at Edrei. 34 Then the Lord said to Moses, (AQ)“Do not fear him, for I have [k]delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and (AR)you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” 35 (AS)So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:3 Lit. Utter Destruction
- Numbers 21:4 impatient
- Numbers 21:5 detests
- Numbers 21:11 Lit. The Heaps of Abarim
- Numbers 21:14 Ancient unknown places; Vg. What He did in the Red Sea
- Numbers 21:20 Lit. field
- Numbers 21:20 Heb. Jeshimon
- Numbers 21:23 attacked
- Numbers 21:27 parables
- Numbers 21:32 secretly search
- Numbers 21:34 given you victory over him
Números 21
Nueva Traducción Viviente
Victoria sobre los cananeos
21 El rey cananeo de Arad que vivía en el Neguev oyó que los israelitas se acercaban por el camino que atraviesa Atarim. Así que atacó a los israelitas y tomó a algunos como prisioneros. 2 Entonces Israel hizo un voto al Señor: «Si entregas a este pueblo en nuestras manos, destruiremos por completo[a] todas sus ciudades». 3 El Señor oyó la petición de los israelitas y les dio la victoria sobre los cananeos. Así que los israelitas los destruyeron por completo junto con sus ciudades y desde entonces ese lugar se conoce como Horma.[b]
La serpiente de bronce
4 Luego el pueblo de Israel salió del monte Hor y tomó el camino hacia el mar Rojo[c] para bordear la tierra de Edom; pero el pueblo se impacientó con tan larga jornada 5 y comenzó a hablar contra Dios y Moisés: «¿Por qué nos sacaron de Egipto para morir aquí en el desierto?—se quejaron—. Aquí no hay nada para comer ni agua para beber. ¡Además, detestamos este horrible maná!».
6 Entonces el Señor envió serpientes venenosas entre el pueblo y muchos fueron mordidos y murieron. 7 Así que el pueblo acudió a Moisés y clamó: «Hemos pecado al hablar contra el Señor y contra ti. Pide al Señor que quite las serpientes». Así pues, Moisés oró por el pueblo.
8 Entonces el Señor le dijo a Moisés: «Haz la figura de una serpiente venenosa y átala a un poste. Todos los que sean mordidos vivirán tan solo con mirar la serpiente». 9 Así que Moisés hizo una serpiente de bronce y la ató a un poste. ¡Entonces los que eran mordidos por una serpiente miraban la serpiente de bronce y sanaban!
Viaje de Israel a Moab
10 Después, los israelitas viajaron a Obot y acamparon allí. 11 Luego siguieron a Ije-abarim, en el desierto situado en la frontera oriental de Moab. 12 De allí viajaron al valle del arroyo Zered y armaron el campamento. 13 Después partieron y acamparon en el otro lado del río Arnón, en el desierto junto al territorio amorreo. El río Arnón forma la frontera que divide a los moabitas de los amorreos. 14 Por esta razón El libro de las guerras del Señor habla de la ciudad de Vaheb en la región de Sufa, de los barrancos del río Arnón, 15 y de los barrancos que se extienden hasta los asentamientos de Ar en la frontera de Moab.
16 De allí los israelitas viajaron a Beer,[d] el pozo donde el Señor le dijo a Moisés: «Reúne al pueblo y yo les daré agua». 17 Allí los israelitas entonaron el siguiente canto:
«¡Brota, oh pozo!
¡Sí, canten sus alabanzas!
18 Canten de este pozo,
que príncipes excavaron,
que grandes líderes abrieron
con sus cetros y varas».
Luego los israelitas salieron del desierto y pasaron por Mataná, 19 Nahaliel y Bamot. 20 Después fueron al valle en Moab donde está la cima del monte Pisga, con vista a la tierra baldía.[e]
Victoria sobre Sehón y Og
21 Después los israelitas enviaron embajadores a Sehón, rey de los amorreos, con el siguiente mensaje:
22 «Permítenos atravesar tu territorio. Tendremos cuidado de no pasar por tus campos y viñedos, ni siquiera beberemos agua de tus pozos. Seguiremos derecho por el camino real hasta que hayamos atravesado tu territorio».
23 Sin embargo, el rey Sehón rehusó permitirles atravesar su territorio. En cambio, movilizó a todo su ejército y atacó a Israel en el desierto y peleó con ellos en Jahaza. 24 Así que los israelitas los masacraron a filo de espada y ocuparon su tierra, desde el río Arnón hasta el río Jaboc. Avanzaron solo hasta los límites de los amonitas porque su frontera estaba fortificada.[f]
25 De manera que Israel tomó todas las ciudades amorreas y se estableció en ellas, incluida la ciudad de Hesbón y sus aldeas vecinas. 26 Hesbón había sido la capital de Sehón, rey de los amorreos. Él había derrotado al rey moabita anterior y se había apoderado de toda su tierra hasta el río Arnón. 27 Por eso los poetas antiguos escribieron lo siguiente sobre él:
«¡Vengan a Hesbón y que sea reconstruida!
Que la ciudad de Sehón sea restaurada.
28 Un fuego ardiente salió de Hesbón,
un incendio de la ciudad de Sehón.
Quemó la ciudad de Ar en Moab;
destruyó a los gobernantes de las alturas de Arnón.
29 ¡Qué aflicción te espera, oh pueblo de Moab!
¡Están acabados, oh adoradores de Quemos!
Quemos dejó a sus hijos como refugiados,
a sus hijas como cautivas de Sehón, el rey amorreo.
30 Los hemos destruido por completo,
desde Hesbón hasta Dibón.
Los hemos exterminado por completo,
hasta lugares tan lejanos como Nofa y Medeba[g]».
31 Así pues, el pueblo de Israel ocupó el territorio de los amorreos. 32 Después que Moisés envió hombres a explorar la región de Jazer, tomaron todas las ciudades de la región y expulsaron a los amorreos que vivían allí. 33 Luego volvieron y se marcharon por el camino que se dirige a Basán, pero Og, rey de Basán, los atacó con todo su pueblo en Edrei. 34 El Señor le dijo a Moisés: «No le tengas miedo, porque yo te lo he entregado junto con toda su gente y su tierra. Haz con él lo mismo que hiciste con Sehón, rey de los amorreos, que gobernó en Hesbón». 35 Así que Israel mató al rey Og, a sus hijos y a todos sus súbditos; no quedó nadie con vida. Entonces Israel ocupó su territorio.
Footnotes
- 21:2 El término hebreo empleado aquí se refiere a la consagración total de cosas o personas al Señor, ya sea destruyéndolas o entregándolas como ofrenda; también en 21:3.
- 21:3 Horma significa «destrucción».
- 21:4 En hebreo mar de juncos.
- 21:16 Beer significa «pozo».
- 21:20 O con vista a Jesimón.
- 21:24 O porque el terreno de la frontera de los amonitas era escabroso; en hebreo dice porque los límites de los amonitas eran fuertes.
- 21:30 O hasta que fuego se extendió a Medeba. El significado del hebreo es incierto.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
La Santa Biblia, Nueva Traducción Viviente, © Tyndale House Foundation, 2010. Todos los derechos reservados.
