Numbers 21
1 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel had entered by the way of Atharim, —so he made war with Israel, and took some of them captive.
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 Then Israel vowed vow unto Yahweh, and said, —If thou wilt, surely deliver up, this people into my hand, then will I utterly destroy their cities.
Then the Israelis solemnly vowed: “Yahweh, if you will help us to defeat these people, we will completely destroy all their towns.”
3 And Yahweh hearkened unto the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanite into his hand, so he utterly destroyed them, and their cities, and called the name of the place Hormah [that is, "Utter Destruction"].
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 Then brake they up from Mount Hor, by way of the Red Sea, to go round the land of Edom, —and the soul of the people became impatient because of 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 So then the people spake against God and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt, to die in the desert? for there is neither bread nor water, and our soul, doth loathe this contemptible 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 Yahweh sent among the people the poisonous serpents, and they bit the people, —and much people out of Israel died.
So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died.
7 Then came the people of Israel unto Moses and said—We have sinned in that we spake against Yahweh and against thee, Pray thou unto Yahweh, that he may take from us the serpent. So Moses prayed for the people.
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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses—Make thee a like serpent, and put it upon standard, —and it shall come to pass, that, any one who is bitten, as soon as he seeth 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 So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon the standard, —and it came to pass—that if the serpent had bitten any man, as soon as he directed his look unto the serpent of bronze, 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 sons of Israel brake up, —and encamped in Oboth.
Then the Israelis traveled to Oboth and (camped/set up their tents) there.
11 And they brake up from Oboth, —and encamped in Ije-Abarim, in the desert which is over against Moab, towards the rising of the sun.
Then they left there, and went to Iye-Abarim, in the desert on the eastern border of Moab.
12 From thence, brake they up, —and encamped in the ravine of Zered.
From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there.
13 From thence, brake they up, and encamped on the other side of Arnon which is in the desert, that cometh forth out of the boundary of the Amorites, —for, Arnon, is the boundary 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 For this cause is it said, in the Book of the Wars of Yahweh, — …Waheb with a hurricane, And the ravines 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 the bottom of the ravines, that extendeth toward the dwelling of Ar, —And adjoineth to the boundary of Moab,
and the ravines there, which extend as far as Ar [village] on the border of Moab.”
16 And from thence, towards Beer, —the same, is the well whereof Yahweh said unto Moses, Gather together the people, that I may give them water.
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, sang Israel this song, —Spring thou up, O well! Respond ye thereunto;
There the Israelis sang this song: “O well, give us water! Sing about this well!
18 A well!—princes digged it, Nobles of the people, delved it, With a sceptre, With their staves. And, from the desert, to Mattanah;
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 Mattanah, to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel, to Bamoth;
Nahaliel, and Bamoth [villages].
20 and, from Bamoth of the valley, which is in the field-country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, —which overlooketh Jeshimon.
Then they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah [Mountain] rises above the desert.
21 Then sent Israel messengers, unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying:
Then the Israelis sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group. This was the message [that they/we gave him]:
22 Let me pass through thy land we will not turn aside into field or into vineyard, nor will we drink the water of a well, —by the king’s road, will we go, until we get through thy boundary.
“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 Sihon suffered not Israel to pass through his boundary, but Sihon gathered together all his people, and came forth to meet Israel, towards the desert, and entered Jahaz, and fought with 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 smote him with the edge of the sword, —and took possession of his land, from Arnon unto Jabbok, unto the sons of Ammon, for strong, was the boundary of the sons of Ammon.
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 So Israel took all these cities, —and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all her villages;
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, as for Heshbon, the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, it was, he, having fought with the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, unto 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 For this cause, say the poets—Enter ye Heshbon, —Built and prepared be the city of Sihon;
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, hath come forth out of Heshbon, A flame, out of the stronghold of Sihon; It hath consumed Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places 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 thee, Moab, Thou art lost, O people of Chemosh, —He hath given up his sons as fugitives, And his daughters into captivity, Unto the king of the Amorites, Sihon.
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 Then we shot them—Heshbon is destroyed, as far as Dibon, —Then laid we waste as far as Nophah, A fire reacheth unto Medeba.
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 So then Israel dwelt in the land 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 captured the villages thereof, —and dispossessed the Amorites that were 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 Then turned they, and went up by the way of Bashan, —and Og, king of Bashan, came forth to meet them—he and all his people, to give battle at Edrei.
Then they turned [north] toward the Bashan region, but King Og of Bashan and all his army attacked them at Edrei [town].
34 Then said Yahweh unto Moses—Do not fear him, for into thy hand, have I delivered him and all his people, and his land, —Therefore shalt thou do unto him, as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who was dwelling in Heshbon.
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 So then they smote him and his sons and all his people, until there was not left him a remnant, —and took possession of 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.
