Deuteronomy 2

1 'And we turn, and journey into the wilderness, the way of the Red Sea, as Jehovah hath spoken unto me, and we go round the mount of Seir many days.

“Then we turned around and went through the desert toward the (Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba), as Yahweh told us to do, and we wandered in the Edom area for many years.

2 'And Jehovah speaketh unto me, saying,

Then Yahweh said to me,

3 Enough to you — is the going round of this mount; turn for yourselves northward.

‘You have been wandering around this hilly area for a long enough time. Now turn [and travel] toward the north.

4 'And the people command thou, saying, Ye are passing over into the border of your brethren, sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir, and they are afraid of you; and ye have been very watchful,

And tell the people that they are about to travel near the land that belongs to the descendants of Esau, who are also descendants of Isaac. They live in the [hilly] Edom region. They will be afraid of you,

5 ye do not strive with them, for I do not give to you of their land even the treading of the sole of a foot; for a possession to Esau I have given mount Seir.

but do not start to fight against them, because I am not going to give you even a tiny bit [HYP] of their land. I have given that land to the descendants of Esau.

6 'Food ye buy from them with money, and have eaten; and also water ye buy from them with money, and have drunk,

[When you travel near their land], buy food and water from them.’

7 for Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee in all the work of thy hands; He hath known thy walking in this great wilderness these forty years; Jehovah thy God [is] with thee; thou hast not lacked anything.

Do not forget that Yahweh our God has blessed you in everything that you [SYN] have done. He knows [what has happened to you while] you have wandered in this huge desert. But he has been with you during those 40 years, and as a result you have had everything that you needed [LIT].

8 'And we pass by from our brethren, 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 continued to travel. We avoided going through the hilly area where the descendants of Esau live. We stayed away from the road through the Jordan [River] Valley past Ezion-Geber and Elath [towns], and we turned and traveled northeast toward the desert area where the Moab people-group lives.

9 and Jehovah saith unto me, Do not distress Moab, nor stir thyself up against them [in] battle, for I do not give to thee of their land [for] a possession; for to the sons of Lot I have given Ar [for] a possession.'

Yahweh said to me, ‘Do not bother/harass the people of Moab, and do not start to fight against them, because I am not going to give you any of their land. [Do not forget that] they are descendants of [Abraham’s nephew] Lot, and I have given to them Ar [city, their capital, and the other areas in that country].’”

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

A large group of giants called Emim formerly lived there. They were strong and numerous, and as tall as the giants who were descendants of Anak.

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

They and the descendants of Anak are also called the Repha giants, but the people of Moab call them Emim.

12 And in Seir have the Horim dwelt formerly; and the sons of Esau dispossess them, and destroy them from before them, and dwell in their stead, as Israel hath done to the land of his possession, which Jehovah hath given to them;

The Hor people-group also formerly lived in the Edom area, but the descendants of Esau chased them out. They defeated and killed them and (settled in/occupied) their land, just as the Israeli people later expelled their enemies from the land that Yahweh gave to them.

13 now, rise ye, and pass over for yourselves the brook Zered; and we pass over the brook Zered.

[I also said to the Israeli people], “Then we crossed the Zered Gorge, as Yahweh told us to do.

14 'And the days which we have walked from Kadesh-Barnea until that we have passed over the brook Zered, [are] thirty and eight years, till the consumption of all the generation of the men of battle from the midst of the camp, as Jehovah hath sworn to them;

It had been thirty-eight years from the time we first left Kadesh-Barnea until we crossed the Zered Gorge. During those years, all the Israeli (fighting men/soldiers) of that generation had died, as Yahweh had vowed would happen.

15 and also the hand of Jehovah hath been against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, till they are consumed.

They died because Yahweh opposed them, until he had gotten rid of all of them.

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

After all the men who had been old enough to fight in wars had died [DOU],

17 that Jehovah speaketh unto me, saying,

Yahweh said to me,

18 Thou art passing over to-day the border of Moab, even Ar,

‘Today you all must cross the border into the Moab region, near Ar, [their capital city].

19 and thou hast come near over-against the sons of Ammon, thou dost not distress them, nor stir up thyself against them, for I do not give [any] of the land of the sons of Ammon to thee [for] a possession; for to the sons of Lot I have given it [for] a possession.

When you come near the border of the land where the Ammon people-group live, do not bother/harass them or start to fight against them. They are also descendants of Lot, so I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given to them.’”

20 'A land of Rephaim it is reckoned, even it; Rephaim dwelt in it formerly, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim;

That region is also called the land of the Repha giants, who formerly lived there. The Ammon people-group call them the Zamzum group.

21 a people great, and numerous, and tall, as the Anakim, and Jehovah destroyeth them before them, and they dispossess them, and dwell in their stead,

They were a large and powerful group, who were as tall as the descendants of Anak. But Yahweh got rid of them, and the Ammon people-group expelled them and took their land away from them and started to live there.

22 as He hath 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, unto this day.

Yahweh had done the same thing for the descendants of Esau who live in the hilly area of Edom. He got rid of the Hor people-group, with the result that the Edom people-group took their land from them and started to live there. They still live there.

23 'As to the Avim who are dwelling in Hazerim unto Azzah, the Caphtorim — who are coming out from Caphtor — have destroyed them, and dwell in their stead.

People who came from Crete [Island] got rid of the Av group [who previously lived in the land close to the Mediterranean Sea], as far south as Gaza. They took their land from them and started to live there.

24 'Rise ye, journey and pass over the brook Arnon; see, I have given into thy hand Sihon king of Heshbon, the Amorite, and his land; begin to possess, and stir up thyself against him [in] battle.

“[After we had gone through the Moab region], Yahweh said to us, ‘Now cross the Arnon [River]. I will help you to defeat [IDM] [the army of] Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lives in Heshbon [city]. So attack their army and start to take their land from them.

25 This day I begin to put thy dread and thy fear on the face of the peoples under the whole heavens, who hear thy fame, and have trembled and been pained because of thee.

Today I will begin to cause everyone, everywhere, to be afraid of you. Everyone who hears about you will tremble and be terrified.’

26 'And I send messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth, unto Sihon king of Heshbon, — words of peace — saying,

Then I sent messengers to go from the desert to King Sihon at Heshbon. I told them to give this peaceful message to the king:

27 Let me pass over through thy land; in the several ways I go; I turn not aside — right or left —

‘Please allow us to travel through your land. We [promise that we] will stay on the road; we will not turn off to the right or to the left.

28 food for money thou dost sell me, and I have eaten; and water for money thou dost give to me, and I have drunk; only, let me pass over on my feet, —

We will pay for any food or water that you allow us to buy. We want only to walk through your country,

29 as the sons of Esau who are dwelling in Seir, and the Moabites who are dwelling in Ar, have done to me — till that I pass over the Jordan, unto the land which Jehovah our God is giving to us.

until we cross the Jordan [River] into the land that Yahweh our God is giving to us. Do for us just as the descendants of Esau who live in the Edom area and the Moab people-group did for us when they allowed us to go through their areas.’

30 'And Sihon king of Heshbon hath not been willing to let us pass over by him, for Jehovah thy God hath hardened his spirit, and strengthened his heart, so as to give him into thy hand as at this day.

But King Sihon would not allow us to go through his country. That was because Yahweh our God caused him to be stubborn [IDM]. The result was that Yahweh enabled us to defeat his army and take his land [IDM], which we still live in.

31 'And Jehovah saith unto me, See, I have begun to give before thee Sihon and his land; begin to possess — to possess his land.

Yahweh said to me, ‘Listen! I am about to allow you to defeat Sihon’s [army] and to take the people’s land from them. So start to occupy it!’

32 'And Sihon cometh out to meet us, he and all his people, to battle to Jahaz;

Then Sihon came out [of the city] with all his army to fight against us at Jahaz [town].

33 and Jehovah our God giveth him before us, and we smite him, and his sons, and all his people;

But God enabled us to defeat [DOU] them, and we killed Sihon and his sons and all his soldiers.

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 captured all their cities and destroyed them all. We killed all the men and women and children; we did not allow any of them to remain alive.

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

We took the valuable things that were in the cities that we captured and also their cattle.

36 'From Aroer, which [is] by the edge of the brook Arnon, and the city which [is] by the brook, even unto Gilead there hath not been a city which [is] too high for us; the whole hath Jehovah our God given before us.

Yahweh our God enabled us to capture [IDM] all their towns from Aroer [in the south], which is at the edge of the Arnon River [Valley], to the Gilead [region in the north]. Some of their cities had [walls around them], but we were able to [climb over them].

37 'Only, unto the land of the sons of Ammon thou hast not drawn near, any part of the brook Jabbok, and cities of the hill-country, and anything which Jehovah our God hath [not] commanded.

But we did not go near the area where the Ammon people-group live, or the banks of the Jabbok riverbed, or the towns in the hilly area, or any other place where Yahweh our God told us not to go.”