1When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them.2Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: ‘If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy[1] their cities.’3The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.[2]
The bronze snake
4They travelled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,[3] to go round Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;5they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’6Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.7The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.8The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’9So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
The journey to Moab
10The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.11Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab towards the sunrise.12From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.13They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon, which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.14That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says: ‘…Zahab[4] in Suphah and the ravines, the Arnon15and[5] the slopes of the ravines that lead to the settlement of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.’16From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather the people together and I will give them water.’17Then Israel sang this song: ‘Spring up, O well! Sing about it,18about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank – the nobles with sceptres and staffs.’ Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah,19from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth,20and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.
Defeat of Sihon and Og
21Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites:22‘Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.’23But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel.24Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified.25Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements.26Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.27That is why the poets say: ‘Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt; let Sihon’s city be restored.28‘Fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the citizens of Arnon’s heights.29Woe to you, Moab! You are destroyed, people of Chemosh! He has given up his sons as fugitives and his daughters as captives to Sihon king of the Amorites.30‘But we have overthrown them; Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon. We have demolished them as far as Nophah, which extends to Medeba.’31So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.32After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there.33Then they turned and went up along the road towards Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.34The Lord said to Moses, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.’35So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.
Numbers 21
English Standard Version
Arad Destroyed
1When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. (Nu 13:17; Nu 33:40; Jud 1:16)2And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”[1] (Ge 28:20; Jud 11:30)3And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.[2] (Nu 14:45; De 1:44; Jos 19:4; Jud 1:17)
The Bronze Serpent
4From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. (Nu 20:22; Nu 33:41; Jud 11:18)5And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Ex 16:3; Ex 17:3; Nu 11:6; Ps 78:19)6Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. (De 8:15; Isa 14:29; Isa 30:6; Jer 8:17; 1Co 10:9)7And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. (Ex 8:8; Ex 8:28; Nu 11:2; 1Sa 12:19; 1Ki 13:6; Ps 78:34; Ac 8:24)8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”9So Moses made a bronze[3] serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (2Ki 18:4; Joh 3:14)
The Song of the Well
10And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. (Nu 33:43)11And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. (Nu 21:10)12From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. (De 2:13)13From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. (Nu 22:36; Jud 11:18)14Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, “Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,15and the slope of the valleys that extends to the seat of Ar, and leans to the border of Moab.” (Nu 21:28; De 2:9; De 2:18; De 2:29; Isa 15:1)16And from there they continued to Beer;[4] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” (Ex 17:6; Nu 20:8; 2Sa 20:14)17Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—18the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, (Ge 49:10)19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,20and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert.[5] (Nu 23:28)
King Sihon Defeated
21Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, (De 2:26; Jud 11:19)22“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” (Nu 20:17)23But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. (De 2:32; De 29:7; Jud 11:20)24And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. (Ge 32:22; De 2:33; Jos 12:1; Jos 24:8; Ne 9:22; Ps 135:11; Ps 136:19; Am 2:9)25And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.26For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.27Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. (Nu 23:7; Nu 32:37)28For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed[6] the heights of the Arnon. (Nu 21:15; Nu 21:27; Jer 48:45)29Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon. (Nu 21:28; Jud 11:24; 1Ki 11:7; 2Ki 23:13; Jer 48:7)30So we overthrew them; Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished; and we laid waste as far as Nophah; fire spread as far as Medeba.”[7] (Nu 32:3; Nu 33:45; Jos 13:17; 1Ch 19:7; Isa 15:2; Jer 48:18)
King Og Defeated
31Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.32And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. (Nu 32:1; Jos 13:25; 2Sa 24:5; Jer 48:32)33Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. (De 1:4; De 3:1; Jos 13:12)34But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” (Nu 21:24; De 3:2)35So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.