Numbers 21
1 And Arad the Chananitish king who lived by the wilderness, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharin; and he made war on Israel, and carried off some of them captives.
The king of Arad [city] lived in the area where the Canaan people-group lived, in the desert in the southern part of the land. He heard a report that the Israelis were approaching on the road to Atharim [village]. So his army attacked the Israelis and captured some of them.
2 And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If you will deliver this people into my power, I will devote it and its cities [to you].
Then the Israelis solemnly vowed: “Yahweh, if you will help us to defeat these people, we will completely destroy all their towns.”
3 And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered the Chananite into his power; and [Israel] devoted him and his cities, and they called the name of that place Anathema.
Yahweh heard what they requested, and he enabled them to defeat the army of the Canaan people-group. The Israeli soldiers killed all the people and destroyed their towns. [Ever since that time], that place has been called Hormah [which means ‘destruction’].
4 And having departed from mount Or by the way [leading] to the Red Sea, they compassed the land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way.
Then the Israelis left Hor Mountain and traveled on the road towards the Red Sea, in order to go around [the land of] Edom. But the people became impatient along the way,
5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, Why is this? Hast you brought us ought of Egypt to kill us in the wilderness? for there is not bread nor water; and our soul loathes this light bread.
and they began to grumble/complain against God and against Moses/me. They said, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in this desert [RHQ]? There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink. And we detest this lousy [manna] food!”
6 And the Lord sent amongst the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and much people of the children of Israel died.
So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died.
7 And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against you: pray therefore to the Lord, and let him take away the serpent from us.
Then the people came to Moses/me and cried out, saying, “We [now know that we] have sinned against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh, asking that he will take away the snakes!” So Moses/I prayed for the people.
8 And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make you a serpent, and put it on a signal-[staff]; and it shall come to pass that whenever a serpent shall bite a man, every one [so] bitten that looks upon it shall live.
Then Yahweh told him/me, “Make a model/image of a poisonous snake, and attach it to the top of a pole. If those who are bitten by the snakes look at that model, they will (recover/get well).”
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-[staff]: and it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the brazen serpent, he lived.
So Moses/I made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
10 And the children of Israel departed, and encamped in Oboth.
Then the Israelis traveled to Oboth and (camped/set up their tents) there.
11 And having departed from Oboth, they encamped in Achalgai, on the farther side in the wilderness, which is opposite Moab, towards the east.
Then they left there, and went to Iye-Abarim, in the desert on the eastern border of Moab.
12 And thence they departed, and encamped in the valley of Zared.
From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there.
13 And they departed thence and encamped on the other side of Arnon in the wilderness, [the country] which extends from the coasts of the Amorites; for Arnon is the borders of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
Then they traveled to the north side of the Arnon [River]. That area is in the desert next to the land where the Amor people-group lived. The Arnon [River] is the boundary between Moab and where the Amor people-group lived.
14 Therefore it is said in a book, A war of the Lord has set on fire Zoob, and the brooks of Arnon.
That is why in the book called ‘The Book of the Wars of Yahweh’ it tells about “Waheb [town] in the Suphah area, and the ravines there; and the Arnon [River]
15 And he has appointed brooks to cause Er to dwell [there]; and it lies near to the coasts of Moab.
and the ravines there, which extend as far as Ar [village] on the border of Moab.”
16 And thence [they came to] the well; this [is] the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people, and I will give them water to drink.
From there, the Israelis traveled to Beer. There was a well there, where Yahweh previously had said to Moses/me, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
17 Then Israel sang this song at the well, Begin [to sing] of the well;
There the Israelis sang this song: “O well, give us water! Sing about this well!
18 the princes digged it, the kings of the nations in their kingdom, in their lordship sank it in the rock: and [they went] from the well to Manthanain,
Sing about this well which our leaders dug; they dug out [the dirt] with their royal scepters and their walking sticks.” Then the Israelis left that desert and went through Mattanah,
19 and from Manthanain to Naaliel, and from Naaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to Janen, which is in the plain of Moab [as seen] from the top of the quarried [rock] that looks towards the wilderness.
Nahaliel, and Bamoth [villages].
20 And Moses sent ambassadors to Seon king of the Amorites, with peaceful words, saying,
Then they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah [Mountain] rises above the desert.
21 We will pass through your land, we will go by the road; we will not turn aside to the field or to the vineyard.
Then the Israelis sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group. This was the message [that they/we gave him]:
22 We will not drink water out of your well; we will go by the king's highway, until we have past your boundaries.
“Allow us to travel through your country. We will stay on the king’s highway, [the main road that goes from the south to the north], until we have finished traveling through your land. We will not walk through any field or vineyard, or drink water from your wells.”
23 And Seon did not allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Seon gathered all his people, and went out to set the battle in array against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jassa, and set the battle in array against Israel.
But King Sihon refused. He would not allow them to walk through his land. Instead, he sent his whole army to attack the Israelis in the desert. They attacked the Israelis at Jahaz [village].
24 And Israel struck him with the slaughter of the sword, and they became possessors of his land, from Arnon to Jaboc, as far as the children of Amman, for Jazer is the borders of the children of Amman.
But the Israelis completely defeated them and occupied their land, from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north]. They stopped at the border of the land where the Ammon people-group lived, because [the Ammon army was defending] the border strongly.
25 And Israel took all their cities, and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Esebon, and in all cities belonging to it.
So the Israelis occupied all the cities and towns where the Amor people-group lived, and some of the Israelis began to live in them. They occupied Heshbon [city] and the nearby villages.
26 For Esebon is the city of Seon king of the Amorites; and he before fought against the king of Moab, and they took all his land, from Aroer to Arnon.
Heshbon was the capital of the country. It was the city where King Sihon ruled. His army had previously defeated the army of the king of Moab, and then his people had begun to live in all of the land of Moab as far as the Arnon [River in the south].
27 Therefore say they who deal in dark speeches, Come to Esebon, that the city of Seon may be built and prepared.
For that reason, one of the poets wrote long ago, “Come to Heshbon, the city where King Sihon [ruled]. We want the city to be restored/rebuilt.
28 For a fire has gone forth from Esebon, a flame from the city of Seon, and has consumed as far as Moab, and devoured the pillars of Arnon.
A fire blazed from Heshbon; it burned down Ar [city] in Moab, it destroyed [everything on] the hills along the Arnon [River].
29 Woe to you, Moab; you are lost, you people of Chamos: their sons are sold for preservation, and their daughters are captives to Seon king of the Amorites.
You people of Moab, terrible things have happened to you! You people who [worship your god] Chemosh have been (annihilated/wiped out)! The men who [worshiped] [MET] Chemosh have run away and are now refugees, and the women [who worshiped him] have been captured by [the army of] Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group.
30 And their seed shall perish [from] Esebon to Daebon; and their women have yet farther kindled a fire against Moab.
But we have defeated [Sihon and] those descendants of Amor, all the way from Heshbon [in the north] to Dibon [city in the south]. We have completely obliterated/destroyed them as far as Nophah and Medeba [towns].”
31 And Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites.
So the Israeli people began to live in the land where the Amor people-group lived.
32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took it, and its villages, and cast out the Amorite that lived there.
After Moses/I sent some men to explore the area near Jazer [city], Israeli people began to live in all the towns in that region and expelled the Amor people-group who lived there.
33 And having returned, they went up the road thhebraismat leads to Basan; and Og the king of Basan went forth to meet them, and all his people to war to Edrain.
Then they turned [north] toward the Bashan region, but King Og of Bashan and all his army attacked them at Edrei [town].
34 And the Lord said to Moses, Fear him not; for I have delivered him and all his people, and all his land, into your hands; and you shall do to him as you did to Seon king of the Amorites, who lived in Esebon.
Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Do not be afraid of Og, because I am going to enable your men to defeat him and his army, and to take possession of all his land. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who ruled in Heshbon.”
35 And he struck him and his sons, and all his people, until he left none of his to be taken alive; and they inherited his land.
And that is what happened. We Israelis defeated Og’s army, and killed King Og and his sons and all his people. Not a person survived! And then we Israelis began to live in their land.
