New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1“Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, just as the LORD had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time.

1"Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke to me, and circled Mount Seir for many days.

2“Then at last the LORD said to me,

2"And the LORD spoke to me, saying,

3‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north.

3You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north,

4Give 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.

4and command the people, saying, "You will pass through the territory of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful;

5Do 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.

5do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

6If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it.

6"You shall buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money so that you may drink.

7For 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.”’

7"For the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing."'

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,

8"So we passed beyond our brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road, away from Elath and from Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9the 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.’”

9"Then the LORD said to me, 'Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.

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.

10(The Emim lived there formerly, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim.

11Both the Emites and the Anakites are also known as the Rephaites, though the Moabites call them Emites.

11Like the Anakim, they are also regarded as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.

12In 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.)

12The Horites formerly lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the LORD gave to them.)

13Moses continued, “Then the LORD said to us, ‘Get moving. Cross the Zered Brook.’ So we crossed the brook.

13'Now arise and cross over the brook Zered yourselves.' So we crossed over the brook Zered.

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.

14"Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.

15The LORD struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community.

15"Moreover the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from within the camp until they all perished.

16“When all the men of fighting age had died,

16"So it came about when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people,

17the LORD said to me,

17that the LORD spoke to me, saying,

18‘Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar

18'Today you shall cross over Ar, the border of Moab.

19and 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.’”

19'When you come opposite the sons of Ammon, do not harass them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.'

20(That area was once considered the land of the Rephaites, who had lived there, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummites.

20(It is also regarded as the land of the Rephaim, for Rephaim formerly lived in it, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummin,

21They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land.

21a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim, but the LORD destroyed them before them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place,

22He 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.

22just as He did for the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them; they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day.

23A similar thing happened when the Caphtorites from Crete invaded and destroyed the Avvites, who had lived in villages in the area of Gaza.)

23And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.)

24Moses 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.

24'Arise, set out, and pass through the valley of Arnon. Look! I have given Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land into your hand; begin to take possession and contend with him in battle.

25Beginning 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

25'This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under the heavens, who, when they hear the report of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you.'

26Moses continued, “From the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with this proposal of peace:

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

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.

27'Let me pass through your land, I will travel only on the highway; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left.

28Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land.

28'You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, only let me pass through on foot,

29The 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.’

29just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which the LORD our God is giving to 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.

30"But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.

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.’

31"The LORD said to me, 'See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to occupy, that you may possess his land.'

32“Then King Sihon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jahaz.

32"Then Sihon with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz.

33But the LORD our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people.

33"The LORD our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him with his sons and all his people.

34We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone—men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared.

34"So we captured all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed the men, women and children of every city. We left no survivor.

35We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked.

35"We took only the animals as our booty and the spoil of the cities which we had captured.

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.

36"From Aroer which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon and from the city which is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too high for us; the LORD our God delivered all over to us.

37However, 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.

37"Only you did not go near to the land of the sons of Ammon, all along the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the LORD our God had commanded us.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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