Deuteronomy 2

1 Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Reeds, as Yahweh had spoken to me; we went around Mount Seir for many days.

Then we went back, journeying into the waste land by the way to the Red Sea, as the Lord had said to me: and we were a long time going round Mount Seir.

2 Yahweh spoke to me, saying,

And the Lord said to me,

3 'You have gone around this mountain long enough; turn northward.

You have been journeying round this mountain long enough: now go to the north;

4 Command the people, saying, “You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; they will be afraid of you. Therefore be careful

And give the people orders, saying, You are about to go through the land of your brothers, the children of Esau, who are living in Seir; and they will have fear of you; so take care what you do:

5 not to fight with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not even enough for the sole of a foot to step on; for I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

Make no attack on them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even space enough for a man's foot: because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for his heritage.

6 You will purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; you will also buy water from them for money, so that you may drink.

You may get food for your needs from them for a price, and water for drinking.

7 For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; he has known your walking through this great wilderness. For these forty years Yahweh your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”'

For the blessing of the Lord your God has been on you in all the work of your hands: he has knowledge of your wanderings through this great waste: these forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have been short of nothing.

8 So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road, from Elath and from Ezion Geber. Then we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

So we went on past our brothers, the children of Esau, living in Seir, by the road through the Arabah, from Elath and Ezion-geber. And turning, we went by the road through the waste land of Moab.

9 Yahweh said to me, 'Do not trouble Moab, and do not fight with them in battle. For I will not give you his land for your own possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot, for their possession.'

And the Lord said to me, Make no attack on Moab and do not go to war with them, for I will not give you any of his land: because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for their heritage.

10 (The Emites lived there previously, a people as great, as many, and as tall as the Anakim;

(In the past the Emim were living there; a great people, equal in numbers to the Anakim and as tall;

11 these also are considered to be the Rephaim, like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them the Emim.

They are numbered among the Rephaim, like the Anakim; but are named Emim by the Moabites.

12 The Horites also lived in Seir previously, but the descendants of Esau succeeded them. They destroyed them from before them and lived in their place, like Israel did to the land of his possession that Yahweh gave to them.)

And the Horites in earlier times were living in Seir, but the children of Esau took their place; they sent destruction on them and took their land for themselves, as Israel did to the land of his heritage which the Lord gave them.)

13 “'Now rise up and go over the brook Zered.' So we went over the brook Zered.

Get up now, and go over the stream Zered. So we went over the stream Zered.

14 Now the days from when we came from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the brook Zered, were thirty-eight years. It was by that time that all that generation of the men fit for fighting were gone from the people, as Yahweh had sworn to them.

Thirty-eight years had gone by from the time when we came away from Kadesh-barnea till we went over the stream Zered; by that time all the generation of the men of war among us were dead, as the Lord had said.

15 Moreover, the hand of Yahweh was against that generation in order to destroy them from the people until they were gone.

For the hand of the Lord was against them, working their destruction, till all were dead.

16 So it happened, when all the men fit for fighting were dead and gone from among the people,

So when death had overtaken all the men of war among the people,

17 that Yahweh spoke to me, saying,

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

18 'You are today to pass over Ar, the border of Moab.

You are about to go by Ar, the limit of the country of Moab;

19 When you come near opposite the people of Ammon, do not trouble them or fight them; for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession; because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession.'”

And when you come near the land of the children of Ammon, give them no cause of trouble and do not make war on them, for I will not give you any of the land of the children of Ammon for your heritage: because I have given it to the children of Lot.

20 (That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim lived there previously—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim—

(That land is said to have been a land of the Rephaim, for Rephaim had been living there in earlier times, but they were named Zamzummim by the Ammonites;

21 a people as great, as many, and as tall as the Anakim. But Yahweh destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they succeeded them and lived in their place.

They were a great people, tall as the Anakim, and equal to them in number; but the Lord sent destruction on them and the children of Ammon took their place, living in their land;

22 This Yahweh also did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them, and the descendants of Esau succeeded them and have lived in their place even until today.

As he did for the children of Esau living in Seir, when he sent destruction on the Horites before them, and they took their land where they are living to this day:

23 As for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)

And the Avvim, living in the small towns as far as Gaza, came to destruction by the hands of the Caphtorim who came out from Caphtor and took their land.)

24 “'Now rise up, go on your journey, and pass over the Valley of the Arnon; look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and fight with him in battle.

Get up now, and go on your journey, crossing over the valley of the Arnon: see, I have given into your hands Sihon, the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and all his land: go forward to make it yours, and make war on him,

25 Today I will begin to put the fear and terror of you on the peoples that are under the whole sky; they will hear news about you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you.'

From now on I will put the fear of you in all peoples under heaven, who, hearing of you, will be shaking with fear and grief of heart because of you.

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

Then from the waste land of Kedemoth I sent representatives to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying,

27 'Let me pass through your land; I will go along the highway; I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left.

Let me go through your land: I will keep to the highway, not turning to the right or to the left;

28 You will sell me food for money, so that I may eat; give me water for money, so that I may drink; only let me pass through on my feet;

Let me have food, at a price, for my needs, and water for drinking: only let me go through on foot;

29 as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, and as the Moabites who live in Ar, did for me; until I pass over the Jordan into the land that Yahweh our God is giving us.'

As the children of Esau did for me in Seir and the Moabites in Ar; till I have gone over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God is giving us.

30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God had hardened his mind and made his heart obstinate, that he might defeat him by your might, which he has now done today.

But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us go through; for the Lord your God made his spirit hard and his heart strong, so that he might give him up into your hands as at this day.

31 Yahweh said to me, 'Look, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you; begin to possess it, in order that you may inherit his land.'

And the Lord said to me, See, from now on I have given Sihon and his land into your hands: go forward now to take his land and make it yours.

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

Then Sihon came out against us with all his people, to make an attack on us at Jahaz.

33 Yahweh our God gave him over to us and we defeated him and his sons and all his people.

And the Lord our God gave him into our hands; and we overcame him and his sons and all his people.

34 We took all his cities at that time and completely destroyed every city—men and the women and the little ones; we left no survivor.

At that time we took all his towns, and gave them over to complete destruction, together with men, women, and children; we had no mercy on any:

35 Only the cattle we took as spoils for ourselves, along with the spoil of the cities that we had taken.

Only the cattle we took for ourselves, with the goods from the towns we had taken.

36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, all the way to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. Yahweh our God gave them into our hands.

From Aroer on the edge of the valley of the Arnon and from the town in the valley as far as Gilead, no town was strong enough to keep us out; the Lord our God gave them all into our hands:

37 It was only to the land of the descendants of Ammon that you did not go, as well as all the side of the Jabbok River, and the cities of the hill country—wherever Yahweh our God had forbidden us to go.

But you did not go near the land of the children of Ammon, that is, all the side of the river Jabbok or the towns of the hill-country, wherever the Lord our God had said we were not to go.