Deuteronomy 2

1 “And setting out from there, we arrived at the wilderness which leads to the Red Sea, just as the Lord had spoken to me. And we encompassed Mount Seir for a long time.

Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spoke to me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

2 And the Lord said to me:

And the LORD spoke to me, saying,

3 ‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north.

Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

4 And instruct the people, saying: You shall cross through the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, and they will fear you.

And command thou the people, saying, Ye [are] to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: therefore take ye good heed to yourselves:

5 Therefore, take care diligently, lest you be moved against them. For I will not give to you from their land even as much as the step that one foot can tread upon, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot-breadth; because I have given mount Seir to Esau [for] a possession.

6 You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink.

Ye shall buy food of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

7 The Lord your God has blessed you in every work of your hands. The Lord your God, dwelling with you, knows your journey, how you crossed through this great wilderness over forty years, and how you have been lacking in nothing.’

For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God [hath been] with thee: thou hast lacked nothing.

8 And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab.

And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9 And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fight against the Moabites, nor should you go to battle against them. For I will not give to you anything from their land, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

And the LORD said to me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land [for] a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot [for] a possession.

10 The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim.

(The Emims dwelt in it in times past, a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakims;

11 They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim.

Who also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

12 The Horites also formerly lived at Seir. When these had been driven out and destroyed, the sons of Esau lived there, just as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to him.

The Horims also dwelt formerly in Seir, but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did to the land of his possession, which the LORD gave to them.)

13 Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place.

Now rise, [said I], and pass over the brook Zered: and we went over the brook Zered.

14 Then, from the time that we advanced from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the torrent Zered, there were thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of the men who were fit for war had been consumed out of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn.

And the space in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we passed the brook Zered, [was] thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted from among the host, as the LORD swore to them.

15 For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp.

For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

16 Then, after all the fighting men had fallen,

So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17 the Lord spoke to me, saying:

That the LORD spoke to me, saying,

18 ‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar.

Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19 And when you have arrived in the vicinity of the sons of Ammon, be careful that you do not fight against them, nor should you be moved to battle. For I will not give to you from the land of the sons of Ammon, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

And [when] thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon [any] possession; because I have given it to the children of Lot [for] a possession.

20 It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim.

(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt in it in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

21 They are a people, great and numerous, and of lofty stature, like the Anakim, whom the Lord wiped away before their face. And he caused them to live there in place of them,

A people great, and many, and tall as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

22 just as he had done for the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, wiping out the Horites and delivering their land to them, which they possess even to the present time.

As he did to the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even to this day:

23 Likewise the Hevites, who were living in small villages as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians, who went forth from Cappadocia, and they wiped them out and lived in their place.

And the Avims who dwelt in Hazerim [even] to Azzah, the Caphtorims, who came forth from Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

24 ‘Rise up and cross the torrent Arnon! Behold, I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, into your hand, and so, begin to possess his land and to engage in battle against him.

Arise ye, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess [it], and contend with him in battle.

25 Today I will begin to send the terror and dread of you among the peoples who are living under all of heaven, so that, when they hear your name, they may be afraid, and may tremble in the manner of a woman giving birth, and may be gripped by anguish.’

This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations [that are] under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

26 Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying:

And I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

27 ‘We will cross through your land. We will advance by the public way. We will not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.

Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the highway, I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left.

28 Sell us food for a price, so that we may eat. Provide us with water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that you allow us to pass through,

Thou shalt sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;

29 just as the sons of Esau have done, who live at Seir, and the Moabites, who abide in Ar, until we arrive at the Jordan, and we cross to the land which the Lord our God will give to us.’

(As the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me; ) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.

30 And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, was not willing to grant passage to us. For the Lord your God had hardened his spirit, and had fastened his heart, so that he would be delivered into your hands, just as you now see.

But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as [appeareth] this day.

31 And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’

And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32 And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz.

Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33 And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people.

And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34 And we seized all his cities at that time, putting to death their inhabitants: men as well as women and children. We left nothing of them,

And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones of every city, we left none to remain.

35 except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities,

Only the cattle we took for a prey to ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36 from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town which is situated in a valley, all the way to Gilead. There was not a village or city which escaped from our hands. The Lord our God delivered everything to us,

From Aroer, which [is] by the brink of the river of Arnon, and [from] the city that [is] by the river, even to Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all to us:

37 except the land of the sons of Ammon, which we did not approach, and all that is adjacent to the torrent Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God prohibited to us.”

Only to the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, [nor] to any place of the river Jabbok, nor to the cities on the mountains, nor to whatever the LORD our God forbad us.