Numbers 21:10-20
English Standard Version
The Song of the Well
10 And the people of Israel set out and (A)camped in Oboth. 11 (B)And they set out from Oboth and (C)camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in (D)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 (E)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 (F)Ar,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
16 And from there they continued (G)to Beer;[a] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that (H)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 (I)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 (J)that looks down on the desert.[b]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 21:16 Beer means well
- Numbers 21:20 Or Jeshimon
Numbers 21:10-20
International Standard Version
Travels in the Wilderness
10 After this, the Israelis traveled and encamped at Oboth. 11 Then they traveled from Oboth and encamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is in the vicinity of Moab’s eastern border. 12 From there, they traveled and encamped in the valley of Zered. 13 Then they traveled to the other side of Arnon and camped in the wilderness that borders the territory of the Amorites. (Arnon borders Moab between Moab and the Amorites, 14 which is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord[a] reads, “Waheb and Suphah and the wadis[b] of the Arnon, 15 and the slope of the valleys, that extends to the dwelling places of Ar and the borders of Moab.”)
16 From there they traveled[c] to the Well of Beer, where the Lord had instructed Moses, “Gather the people together and I’ll give you water.” 17 That’s also where Israel sang this song:
Rise up, well!
Sing to it!
18 It’s the well that the leaders dug,
the one carved out by the nobles of the people
with their scepters and staffs.
Then they moved on in the wilderness from there to Mattanah, 19 then from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley of Moab where their fields are, and from there to the top of Mount Pisgah, that looks down toward the open desert.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 21:14 I.e. a book chronicling ancient Israel’s history, now lost to history
- Numbers 21:14 I.e. seasonal rivers that are dry in the summer
- Numbers 21:16 The Heb. lacks they traveled
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