1Then we turned back and set out towards the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,[1] as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.2Then the Lord said to me,3‘You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.4Give the people these orders: “You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful.5Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.6You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.” ’7The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.8So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, and travelled along the desert road of Moab.9Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.’10(The Emites used to live there – a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.11Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites.12Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)13And the Lord said, ‘Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.’ So we crossed the valley.14Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.15The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp.16Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died,17the Lord said to me,18‘Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.19When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’20(That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.21They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place.22The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.23And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor[2] destroyed them and settled in their place.)
Defeat of Sihon king of Heshbon
24‘Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.25This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’26From the Desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying,27‘Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.28Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot –29as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us – until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.’30But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.31The Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.’32When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz,33the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army.34At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed[3] them – men, women and children. We left no survivors.35But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves.36From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them.37But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God, you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, neither the land along the course of the Jabbok nor that around the towns in the hills.
Deuteronomy 2
English Standard Version
The Wilderness Years
1“Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. (Nu 14:25; De 1:40)2Then the Lord said to me,3‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward (De 1:6)4and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. (Ge 32:3; Nu 20:18; De 23:7; Am 1:11; Ob 1:10; Ob 1:12)5Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. (De 2:4)6You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. (De 2:28)7For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’ (De 8:2; Job 23:10)8So we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road from Elath and Ezion-geber. “And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. (Nu 33:35; De 1:1; Jud 11:18; 1Ki 9:26; 2Ki 14:22; 2Ki 16:6; 2Ch 26:2)9And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.’ (Ge 19:36; Nu 21:15; De 2:18; De 2:19; De 2:29; Isa 15:1)10(The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim. (Ge 14:5; Nu 13:22; De 2:21)11Like the Anakim they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. (Ge 14:5)12The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.) (Ge 14:6; Ge 36:20; Nu 21:24; Nu 21:31; Nu 21:35; De 2:22)13‘Now rise up and go over the brook Zered.’ So we went over the brook Zered. (Nu 21:12)14And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. (Nu 14:33; Nu 14:35; Nu 21:12; Nu 26:64; De 1:2; De 1:19; De 1:35; Ps 78:33; Ps 95:11; Ps 106:26; Eze 20:15; 1Co 10:5; Heb 3:17)15For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.16“So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people,17the Lord said to me,18‘Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar.19And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with 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 sons of Lot for a possession.’ (Ge 19:36; Ge 19:38; De 2:9)20(It is also counted as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— (Ge 14:5)21a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites,[1] and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, (De 2:10)22as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. (Ge 14:6; Ge 36:20)23As for the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) (Ge 10:14; Ge 10:19; Jos 13:3; Jer 25:20)24‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle. (Nu 21:13; Nu 21:27; Nu 21:30; De 2:9; Jud 11:18; Jud 11:21)25This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’ (Ex 15:14; De 11:25; De 28:10; Jos 2:9)
The Defeat of King Sihon
26“So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, (De 2:24; De 20:10; Jos 13:18; 1Ch 6:79)27‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. (Nu 21:21; Jud 11:19)28You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, (Nu 20:19; De 2:6)29as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’ (Nu 20:18; De 2:5; De 2:9; De 23:3; Jud 11:17)30But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. (Ex 4:21; Nu 21:23; De 2:24)31And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’32Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. (Nu 21:23)33And the Lord our God gave him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and all his people. (De 7:2; De 29:7)34And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction[2] every city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. (De 3:6)35Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured.36From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The Lord our God gave all into our hands. (De 3:12; De 4:48; Jos 12:2; Jos 13:9; Jos 13:16; 2Sa 24:5; 2Ki 10:33; Ps 44:3)37Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us. (Ge 32:22; Nu 21:24; De 3:16; Jos 12:2; Jud 11:22)