< Deuteronomy 2 >

1 “And we turn and journey into the wilderness, the way of the Red Sea, as YHWH has spoken to me, and we go around Mount Seir [for] many days.
“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.
2 And YHWH speaks to me, saying,
And the Lord said to me:
3 For you go around this mountain long enough; turn for yourselves northward.
‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north.
4 And the people command you, saying, You are passing over into the border of your brothers, sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir, and they are afraid of you; and you have been very watchful;
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.
5 you do not strive with them, for I do not give [any] of their land to you—even the treading of the sole of a foot; I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession.
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.
6 You buy food from them with money, and have eaten; and you also buy water from them with money, and have drunk.
You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink.
7 For your God YHWH has blessed you in all the work of your hands; He has known your walking in this great wilderness these forty years; your God YHWH [is] with you; you have not lacked anything.
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.’
8 And we pass by from our brothers, sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir, by the way of the plain, by Elath and by Ezion-Gaber, and we turn and pass over the way of the wilderness of Moab;
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.
9 and YHWH says to me, Do not distress Moab, nor stir yourself up against them [in] battle, for I do not give [any] of their land to you [for] a possession; for I have given Ar to the sons of Lot [for] a possession.
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.’
10 The Emim have formerly dwelt in it, a people great, and numerous, and tall as the Anakim;
The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim.
11 they are reckoned [as] Rephaim, they also, as the Anakim; and the Moabites call them Emim.
They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim.
12 And the Horim have formerly dwelt in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossess them, and destroy them from before them, and dwell in their stead, as Israel has done to the land of his possession which YHWH has given to them.
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.
13 Now rise and pass over the Brook of Zered for yourselves; and we pass over the Brook of Zered.
Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place.
14 And the days which we have walked from Kadesh-Barnea until we have passed over the Brook of Zered [are] thirty-eight years, until the consumption of all the generation of the men of battle from the midst of the camp, as YHWH has sworn to them;
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.
15 and indeed the hand of YHWH has been against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they are consumed.
For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp.
16 And it comes to pass, when all the men of battle have finished dying from the midst of the people,
Then, after all the fighting men had fallen,
17 that YHWH speaks to me, saying,
the Lord spoke to me, saying:
18 Today you are passing over the border of Moab, even Ar,
‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar.
19 and [when] you have come near the sons of Ammon, you do not distress them, nor stir yourself up against them, for I do not give [any] of the land of the sons of Ammon to you [for] a possession; for I have given it to the sons of Lot [for] a possession.
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.’
20 It is reckoned [as] a land of Rephaim, even it; Rephaim formerly dwelt in it, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim.
21 a people great, and numerous, and tall as the Anakim, and YHWH destroys them before them, and they dispossess them, and dwell in their stead,
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,
22 as He has done for the sons of Esau who are dwelling in Seir, when He destroyed the Horim from before them, and they dispossess them, and dwell in their stead to this day.
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.
23 As for the Avim who are dwelling in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim—who are coming out from Caphtor—have destroyed them, and dwell in their stead.
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.
24 Rise, journey, and pass over the Brook of Arnon; see, I have given into your hand Sihon king of Heshbon, the Amorite, and his land; begin to possess [it], and stir yourself up against him [in] battle.
‘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.
25 This [is] the day I begin to put your dread and your fear on the face of the peoples under the whole heavens, who hear your fame, and have trembled and been pained because of you.
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.’
26 And I send messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, [with] words of peace, saying,
Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying:
27 Let me pass over through your land; in the way—in the way I go, I do not turn aside [to the] right or left.
‘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.
28 You sell me food for money, and I have eaten; and you give to me water for money, and I have drunk; only, let me pass over on my feet,
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,
29 as the sons of Esau who are dwelling in Seir and the Moabites who are dwelling in Ar have done for me, until I pass over the Jordan to the land which our God YHWH is giving to us.
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.’
30 And Sihon king of Heshbon has not been willing to let us pass over by him, for your God YHWH has hardened his spirit and strengthened his heart, so as to give him into your hand as at this day.
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.
31 And YHWH says to me, See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before your faces; begin to possess—to possess his land.
And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’
32 And Sihon comes out to meet us, he and all his people, to the battle at Jahaz;
And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz.
33 and our God YHWH gives him before our faces, and we strike him, and his sons, and all his people;
And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people.
34 and we capture all his cities at that time, and devote the whole city—men, and the women, and the infants; we have not left a remnant;
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,
35 only, we have spoiled the livestock for ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we have captured.
except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities,
36 From Aroer, which [is] by the edge of the Brook of Arnon, and the city which [is] by the brook, even to Gilead, there has not been a city which [is] too high for us; our God YHWH has given the whole before our faces.
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,
37 Only, you have not drawn near to the land of the sons of Ammon—any part of the Brook of Jabbok, and cities of the hill-country, and anything which our God YHWH has [not] commanded.”
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.”

< Deuteronomy 2 >