Numbers 21
1 And when king Arad the Canaanite, who was living toward the south, had heard this, namely, that Israel had arrived by the way of spies, he fought against them. And proving to be the victor, he led away prey from them.
And it came to the ears of the Canaanite, the king of Arad, living in the South, that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, and he came out against them and took some of them prisoners.
2 But Israel, obliging himself by a vow to the Lord, said: “If you deliver this people into my hand, I will wipe away their cities.”
Then Israel made an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give up this people into my hands, then I will send complete destruction on all their towns.
3 And the Lord heard the prayers of Israel, and he delivered the Canaanite, whom they put to death, overthrowing his cities. And they called the name of that place Hormah, that is, Anathema.
And the Lord, in answer to the voice of Israel, gave the Canaanites up to them; and they put them and their towns completely to destruction: and that place was named Hormah.
4 Then they set out from mount Hor, by the way that leads to the Red Sea, to circle around the land of Edom. And the people began to tire of their journey and hardships.
Then they went on from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, going round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people was overcome with weariness on the way.
5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: “Why did you lead us away from Egypt, so as to die in the wilderness? Bread is lacking; there are no waters. Our soul is now nauseous over this very light food.”
And crying out against God and against Moses, they said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to come to our death in the waste land? For there is no bread and no water, and this poor bread is disgusting to us.
6 For this reason, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, which wounded or killed many of them.
Then the Lord sent poison-snakes among the people; and their bites were a cause of death to numbers of the people of Israel.
7 And so they went to Moses, and they said: “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray, so that he may take away these serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people.
Then the people came to Moses and said, We have done wrong in crying out against the Lord and against you: make prayer to the Lord to take away the snakes from us. So Moses made prayer for the people.
8 And the Lord said to him: “Make a bronze serpent, and place it as a sign. Whoever, having been struck, gazes upon it, shall live.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Make an image of a snake and put it on a rod, and anyone who has been wounded by the snakes, looking on it will be made well.
9 Therefore, Moses made a bronze serpent, and he placed it as a sign. When those who had been struck gazed upon it, they were healed.
So Moses made a snake of brass and put it on a rod; and anyone who had a snakebite, after looking on the snake of brass, was made well.
10 And the sons of Israel, setting out, made camp at Oboth.
Then the children of Israel went on and put up their tents in Oboth.
11 Having departed from there, they pitched their tents at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness, which looks out toward Moab, opposite the eastern region.
And journeying on again from Oboth, they put up their tents in Iye-abarim, in the waste land before Moab looking east.
12 And moving from there, they arrived at the Torrent of Zared.
And moving on from there, they put up their tents in the valley of Zered.
13 Having left that place behind, they then made camp opposite Arnon, which is in the desert, and which juts out at the borders of the Amorite. For certainly Arnon is at the limit of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorites.
From there they went on and put up their tents on the other side of the Arnon, which is on the waste land at the edge of the land of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the line of division between Moab and the Amorites:
14 About this place, it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord: “As he did at the Red Sea, so will he do at the Torrents of Arnon.”
As it says in the book of the Wars of the Lord, Vaheb in Suphah, and the valley of the Amon;
15 The stones of the torrents were bent, so that they might rest in Ar and lie back within the borders of the Moabites.
The slope of the valleys going down to the tents of Ar and touching the edge of Moab.
16 Beyond that place appeared a well, about which the Lord said to Moses: “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
From there they went on to Beer, the water-spring of which the Lord said to Moses, Make the people come together and I will give them water.
17 Then Israel sang this verse: “Let the well rise up.” They sang:
Then Israel gave voice to this song: Come up, O water-spring, let us make a song to it:
18 “The well, the leaders dug it, and the commanders of the multitude prepared it, at the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staffs.”
The fountain made by the chiefs, made deep by the great ones of the people, with the law-givers' rod, and with their sticks. Then from the waste land they went on to Mattanah:
19 They went from the wilderness to Mattanah, from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:
20 from Bamoth, a valley in the region of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks out opposite the desert.
And from Bamoth to the valley in the open country of Moab, and to the top of Pisgah looking over Jeshimon.
21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, saying:
And Israel sent men to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying,
22 “I beg you to permit me to cross through your land. We will not turn aside into the fields or the vineyards. We will not drink waters from the wells. We will travel by the royal way, until we have passed your borders.”
Let me go through your land: we will not go into field or vine-garden, or take the water of the springs; we will go by the highway till we have gone past the limits of your land.
23 And he was not willing to allow Israel to cross through his borders. But instead, gathering an army, he went out to meet them in the desert, and he arrived at Jahaz and fought against them.
And Sihon would not let Israel go through his land; but got all his people together and went out against Israel into the waste land, as far as Jahaz, to make war on Israel.
24 And he was struck down by them with the edge of the sword, and they possessed his land from Arnon, even to Jabbok and the sons of Ammon. For the borders of the Ammonites were held by a strong fortress.
But Israel overcame him, and took all his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the country of the children of Ammon, for the country of the children of Ammon was strongly armed.
25 Therefore, Israel took all his cities and lived in the cities of the Amorite, namely, in Heshbon and its villages.
And Israel took all their towns, living in Heshbon and all the towns and small places of the Amorites.
26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who fought against the king of Moab. And he took all the land, which had been under his sovereignty, as far as Arnon.
For Heshbon was the town of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had made war against an earlier king of Moab and taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.
27 About this, it is said in the proverb: “Enter into Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be established and built.
So the makers of wise sayings say, Come to Heshbon, building up the town of Sihon and making it strong:
28 A fire has gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon, and it has devoured Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the heights of Arnon.
For a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon: for the destruction of Ar in Moab, and the lords of the high places of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, Moab! You are perishing, O people of Chemosh. He gave flight to his sons, and he gave the daughters into captivity, to the king of the Amorites, Sihon.
Sorrow is yours, O Moab! Destruction is your fate, O people of Chemosh: his sons have gone in flight, and his daughters are prisoners, in the hands of Sihon, king of the Amorites.
30 Their yoke has been scattered from Heshbon even to Dibon. They have passed through, wearily, into Nophah, and as far as Medeba.”
They are wounded with our arrows; destruction has come on Heshbon, even to Dibon; and we have made the land waste as far as Nophah, stretching out to Medeba.
31 And so Israel lived in the land of the Amorite.
So Israel put up their tents in the land of the Amorites.
32 And Moses sent some to explore Jazer. These captured its villages and possessed its inhabitants.
And Moses sent men secretly to Jazer, and they took its towns, driving out the Amorites who were living there.
33 And they turned themselves and ascended, along the way of Bashan. And Og, the king of Bashan, met them with all his people, to fight at Edrei.
Then turning they went up by the way of Bashan; and Og, king of Bashan, went out against them with all his people, to the fight at Edrei.
34 And the Lord said to Moses: “Do not be afraid of him. For I have delivered him, and all his people, as well as his land, into your hand. And you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, the inhabitant of Heshbon.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Have no fear of him: for I have given him up into your hands, with all his people and his land; do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, at Heshbon.
35 Therefore, they struck him down also, with his sons, and all his people, even to utter destruction, and they possessed his land.
So they overcame him and his sons and his people, driving them all out: and they took his land for their heritage.
