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.

Then we turned around and headed back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me, and we wandered around Mount Seir for a long time.

2 And YHWH speaks to me, saying,

This is when the Lord told me,

3 For you go around this mountain long enough; turn for yourselves northward.

“You have been wandering around this mountain long enough. Go back 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 give these orders to the people: ‘You are going to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be frightened of you, so you need to be very careful.

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.

Don't fight them, for I'm not going to give you any of their land, not even the size of a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau and it belongs to him.

6 You buy food from them with money, and have eaten; and you also buy water from them with money, and have drunk.

Pay them with money for the food you eat and the water you 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.

Remember that the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you've done. He has looked after you during your journey through this large desert. The Lord your God has been with you for these forty years, and you haven't lacked anything.”

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;

So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We didn't take the Arabah road from Elath and Ezion-geber. Instead we used the road that goes through 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.

Then the Lord told me, “Don't cause the Moabites any trouble or fight them, for I'm not going to give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot and it belongs to them.”

10 The Emim have formerly dwelt in it, a people great, and numerous, and tall as the Anakim;

(A strong and numerous people called the Emim once lived there. They were as tall as the Anakim,

11 they are reckoned [as] Rephaim, they also, as the Anakim; and the Moabites call them Emim.

and just like the Anakim, they were also considered as Rephaim, but the Moabites called them 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.

Previously the Horites lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau took over their land. They killed the Horites and settled there, just like Israel did when they occupied the land that the Lord had given them.)

13 Now rise and pass over the Brook of Zered for yourselves; and we pass over the Brook of Zered.

Then the Lord told us, “Go and cross over Zered Brook.” So we crossed over Zered Brook.

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;

The time it took for us to travel from Kadesh-barnea to when we crossed over the Brook of Zered was thirty-eight years. By this time the entire generation of warriors had died and were no longer part of the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them would happen.

15 and indeed the hand of YHWH has been against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they are consumed.

In fact the Lord worked against them to remove them from the camp, until they were all dead.

16 And it comes to pass, when all the men of battle have finished dying from the midst of the people,

Once the people's warriors had died,

17 that YHWH speaks to me, saying,

the Lord told me,

18 Today you are passing over the border of Moab, even Ar,

“Today you will cross out of Moab at the border near 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.

However, when you get enter Ammonite territory, don't cause them any trouble or fight them for I'm not going to give you any Ammonite land, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot and it belongs to them.”

20 It is reckoned [as] a land of Rephaim, even it; Rephaim formerly dwelt in it, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,

(This land was previously considered as the country of the Rephaim who used to live there. However, the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.

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 were a strong and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them when the Ammonites invaded and drove them out and settled there,

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'd done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites. They drove them out and settled where they used to live, and are still there to this day.

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.

The Avvim, living in villages as far away as Gaza, were destroyed by the Philistines, who came from Crete, and settled where they used to live.)

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.

Then the Lord told us, “Get up, go and cross the Arnon Valley. Look, I have handed over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, as well as his land. Go and start taking it over, and fight him in battle.

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.

From this day on, I'm going to make all nations on earth dread you—they will be terrified of you. Because of the news they hear about you they will tremble in terror when you appear.”

26 And I send messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, [with] words of peace, saying,

Moses told the Israelites, “From the Kedemoth Desert I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon, king of Heshbon, telling him,

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.

‘Let us pass through your land. We'll stay on the main road and won't turn off either to the right or 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 to eat and water to drink for money. Just let us pass through on foot,

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 like the descendants of Esau living in Seir and the Moabites living in Ar allowed us, until we cross over the Jordan into the country that the Lord our God is giving 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.

But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through, for the Lord your God gave him a stubborn spirit and an obstinate attitude, so the Lord could hand him over to you, as he has now done.

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.

Then the Lord told me, “Look, I have started handing Sihon and his land over to you. Now you can begin to conquer and take over his land.”

32 And Sihon comes out to meet us, he and all his people, to the battle at Jahaz;

Sihon and his whole army came out to fight us at Jahaz.

33 and our God YHWH gives him before our faces, and we strike him, and his sons, and all his people;

The Lord our God handed him over to us, and we killed him, his sons, and all his army.

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;

We also captured all his towns, and set apart for destruction the people of every town: men, women, and children. We didn't leave any survivors.

35 only, we have spoiled the livestock for ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we have captured.

All we took for ourselves was the livestock and plunder from the towns we'd captured.

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.

No town had walls too high for us to conquer—from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the town in the valley, all the way to Gilead. The Lord our God handed them all over 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.”

But you didn't go anywhere near the country of the Ammonites—the area that borders the Jabbok River or the towns of the hill country, or any other place that the Lord our God had placed off limits.