Deuteronomy 2

Chapter 2

Remembering Israel’s Wanderings

1 “Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea,t just as the LORD had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time.
2 “Then at last the LORD said to me,3 ‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north.4 Give these orders to the people: “You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful.5 Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land.6 If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it.

7 For the LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’

8 “So we bypassed the territory of our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We avoided the road through the Arabah Valley that comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber.

“Then as we turned north along the desert route through Moab,

9 the LORD warned us, ‘Do not bother the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given them Ar as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’”
10 (A race of giants called the Emites had once lived in the area of Ar. They were as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites, another race of giants.11 Both the Emites and the Anakites are also known as the Rephaites, though the Moabites call them Emites.

12 In earlier times the Horites had lived in Seir, but they were driven out and displaced by the descendants of Esau, just as Israel drove out the people of Canaan when the LORD gave Israel their land.)

13 Moses continued, “Then the LORD said to us, ‘Get moving. Cross the Zered Brook.’ So we crossed the brook.
14 “Thirty-eight years passed from the time we first left Kadesh-barnea until we finally crossed the Zered Brook! By then, all the men old enough to fight in battle had died in the wilderness, as the LORD had vowed would happen.

15 The LORD struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community.
16 “When all the men of fighting age had died,17 the LORD said to me,18 ‘Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar

19 and enter the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. But do not bother them or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’”
20 (That area was once considered the land of the Rephaites, who had lived there, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummites.21 They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land.22 He had done the same for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, for he destroyed the Horites so they could settle there in their place. The descendants of Esau live there to this day.

23 A similar thing happened when the Caphtorites from Cretet invaded and destroyed the Avvites, who had lived in villages in the area of Gaza.)
24 Moses continued, “Then the LORD said, ‘Now get moving! Cross the Arnon Gorge. Look, I will hand over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy the land.

25 Beginning today I will make people throughout the earth terrified because of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear.’”

Victory over Sihon of Heshbon

26 Moses continued, “From the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with this proposal of peace:
27 ‘Let us travel through your land. We will stay on the main road and won’t turn off into the fields on either side.28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land.29 The descendants of Esau who live in Seir allowed us to go through their country, and so did the Moabites, who live in Ar. Let us pass through until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.’

30 “But King Sihon of Heshbon refused to allow us to pass through, because the LORD your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat him, as he has now done.

31 “Then the LORD said to me, ‘Look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to conquer and occupy his land.’
32 “Then King Sihon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jahaz.33 But the LORD our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people.34 We conquered all his towns and completely destroyedt everyone—men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared.

35 We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked.
36 “The LORD our God also helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us.

37 However, we avoided the land of the Ammonites all along the Jabbok River and the towns in the hill country—all the places the LORD our God had commanded us to leave alone.

DEUTERONOMY 2

1  t We spent many years wandering around outside the hill country of Seir, t

2 until the [Lord] said:
Moses, 3 Israel has wandered in these hills long enough. Turn and go north. 4 t And give the people these orders: “Be very careful, because you will soon go through the land that belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau.t They are afraid of you, 5 but don't start a war with them. I have given them the hill country of Seir, so I won't give any of it to you, not even enough to set a foot on.

6 And as you go through their land, you will have to buy food and water from them.”

7 The [Lord] has helped us and taken care of us during the past 40 years that we have been in this huge desert. We've had everything we needed, and the [Lord] has blessed us and made us successful in whatever we have done.

8 We went past the territory that belonged to our relatives, the descendants of Esau.t We followed Arabah Road that starts in the south at Elath and Ezion-Geber, then we turned onto the desert road that leads to Moab.

9  t The [Lord] told me, “Don't try to start a war with Moab. Leave them alone, because I gave the land of Art to them, t and I will not let you have any of it.”

Tribes That Lived //near Canaan

11 The Moabites called them Emim, though others sometimes used the name Rephaimt for both the Anakim and the Emim.

12 The Horites used to live in Seir, but the Edomitest took over that region. They killed many of the Horites and forced the rest of them to leave, just as Israel did to the people in the land that the [Lord] gave them.

Israel Crossed //the Zered Gorge

Moses said to Israel:

15-16 The [Lord] kept getting rid oft them until finally none of them were left.
17 Then the [Lord] told me, 18 “Moses, now go past the town of Ar and cross Moab's northern border

19 t into Ammon. But don't start a war with the Ammonites. I gave themt their land, and I won't give any of it to Israel.”

More Nations That Lived //near Canaan

22 The [Lord] helped them as he had helped the Edomites, t who killed many of the Horites in Seir and forced the rest to leave before settling there themselves.

23 A group called the Avvim used to live in villages as far south as Gaza, but the Philistinest killed them and settled on their land.

Israel Crossed //the Arnon Gorge

Moses said:

24 After we went through Ammon, the [Lord] told us:
Israel, pack up your possessions, take down your tents, and cross the Arnon River gorge.t The territory of the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon lies on the other side of the river, but I now give you his land. So attack and take it!

25 Today I will start making all other nations afraid of you. They will tremble with fear when anyone mentions you, and they will be terrified when you show up.

The Defeat of King Sihon //of Heshbon

(Numbers 21.21-30)

Moses said to Israel:

26 After we had crossed the Arnon and had set up camp in the Kedemoth Desert, I sent messengers to King Sihon of Heshbon, telling him that his nation and ours could be at peace. I said:
27 Please let Israel go across your country. We will walk straight through, without turning off the road.

28-29 You can even sell us food and water, and we will pay with silver. We need to reach the Jordan River and cross it, because the [Lord] our God is giving us the land on the west side. The Edomites and Moabitest have already let us cross their land. Please let us cross your land as well.

30-31 But Sihon refused to let us go across his country, because the [Lord] made him stubborn and eager to fight us. The [Lord] told me, “I am going to help you defeat Sihon and take his land, so attack him!”
32 We met Sihon and his army in battle at Jahaz, 33 and the [Lord] our God helped us defeat them. We killed Sihon, his sons, and everyone else in his army. 34 Then we captured and destroyed every town in Sihon's kingdom, killing everyone, 35 but keeping the livestock and everything else of value.

36 The [Lord] helped us capture every town from the Arnon River gorge north to the boundary of Gilead, including the town of Aroer on the edge of the gorge and the town in the middle of the gorge.
37 However, we stayed away from all the Ammonite towns, both in the hill country and near the Jabbok River, just as the [Lord] had commanded.