1-2 These are the sermons Moses preached to all Israel when they were east of the Jordan River in the Arabah Wilderness, opposite Suph, in the vicinity of Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It takes eleven days to travel from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea following the Mount Seir route.

* * *

3-4 It was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year when Moses addressed the People of Israel, telling them everything God had commanded him concerning them. This came after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who ruled from Ashtaroth in Edrei. It was east of the Jordan in the land of Moab that Moses set out to explain this Revelation.

Moses Preaches to Israel on the Plains of Moab

He said:

6-8 Back at Horeb, God, our God, spoke to us: “You’ve stayed long enough at this mountain. On your way now. Get moving. Head for the Amorite hills, wherever people are living in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negev, the seashore—the Canaanite country and the Lebanon all the way to the big river, the Euphrates. Look, I’ve given you this land. Now go in and take it. It’s the land God promised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their children after them.”

9-13 At the time I told you, “I can’t do this, can’t carry you all by myself. God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you—you rival the stars in the sky! And may God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised. But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels? So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders.”

14 You answered me, “Good! A good solution.”

15 So I went ahead and took the top men of your tribes, wise and seasoned, and made them your leaders—leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of your tribes.

16-17 At the same time I gave orders to your judges: “Listen carefully to complaints and accusations between your fellow Israelites. Judge fairly between each person and his fellow or foreigner. Don’t play favorites; treat the little and the big alike; listen carefully to each. Don’t be impressed by big names. This is God’s judgment you’re dealing with. Hard cases you can bring to me; I’ll deal with them.”

18 I issued orders to you at that time regarding everything you would have to deal with.

19-21 Then we set out from Horeb and headed for the Amorite hill country, going through that huge and frightening wilderness that you’ve had more than an eyeful of by now—all under the command of God, our God—and finally arrived at Kadesh Barnea. There I told you, “You’ve made it to the Amorite hill country that God, our God, is giving us. Look, God, your God, has placed this land as a gift before you. Go ahead and take it now. God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, promised it to you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose heart.”

22 But then you all came to me and said, “Let’s send some men on ahead to scout out the land for us and bring back a report on the best route to take and the kinds of towns we can expect to find.”

23-25 That seemed like a good idea to me, so I picked twelve men, one from each tribe. They set out, climbing through the hills. They came to the Eshcol Valley and looked it over. They took samples of the produce of the land and brought them back to us, saying, “It’s a good land that God, our God, is giving us!”

26-28 But then you weren’t willing to go up. You rebelled against God, your God’s plain word. You complained in your tents: “God hates us. He hauled us out of Egypt in order to dump us among the Amorites—a death sentence for sure! How can we go up? We’re trapped in a dead end. Our brothers took all the wind out of our sails, telling us, ‘The people are bigger and stronger than we are; their cities are huge, their defenses massive—we even saw Anakite giants there!’”

29-33 I tried to relieve your fears: “Don’t be terrified of them. God, your God, is leading the way; he’s fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you’re here, you won’t trust God, your God—this same God who goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go.”

34-36 When God heard what you said, he exploded in anger. He swore, “Not a single person of this evil generation is going to get so much as a look at the good land that I promised to give to your parents. Not one—except for Caleb son of Jephunneh. He’ll see it. I’ll give him and his descendants the land he walked on because he was all for following God, heart and soul.”

37-40 But I also got it. Because of you God’s anger spilled over onto me. He said, “You aren’t getting in either. Your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will go in. Build up his courage. He’s the one who will claim the inheritance for Israel. And your babies of whom you said, ‘They’ll be grabbed for plunder,’ and all these little kids who right now don’t even know right from wrong—they’ll get in. I’ll give it to them. Yes, they’ll be the new owners. But not you. Turn around and head back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea.”

41 You spoke up, “We’ve sinned against God. We’ll go up and fight, following all the orders that God, our God, has commanded.” You took your weapons and dressed for battle—you thought it would be so easy going into those hills!

42 But God told me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t do it; don’t go up to fight—I’m not with you in this. Your enemies will waste you.’”

43-46 I told you but you wouldn’t listen. You rebelled at the plain word of God. You threw out your chests and strutted into the hills. And those Amorites, who had lived in those hills all their lives, swarmed all over you like a hive of bees, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah, a stinging defeat. You came back and wept in the presence of God, but he didn’t pay a bit of attention to you; God didn’t give you the time of day. You stayed there in Kadesh a long time, about as long as you had stayed there earlier.

Then we turned around and went back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea, as God had instructed me. We worked our way in and around the hills of Seir for a long, long time.

* * *

2-6 Then God said, “You’ve been going around in circles in these hills long enough; go north. Command the people, You’re about to cut through the land belonging to your relatives, the People of Esau who settled in Seir. They are terrified of you, but restrain yourselves. Don’t try and start a fight. I am not giving you so much as a square inch of their land. I’ve already given all the hill country of Seir to Esau—he owns it all. Pay them up front for any food or water you get from them.”

God, your God, has blessed you in everything you have done. He has guarded you in your travels through this immense wilderness. For forty years now, God, your God, has been right here with you. You haven’t lacked one thing.

So we detoured around our brothers, the People of Esau who live in Seir, avoiding the Arabah Road that comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber; instead we used the road through the Wilderness of Moab.

God told me, “And don’t try to pick a fight with the Moabites. I am not giving you any of their land. I’ve given ownership of Ar to the People of Lot.”

10-12 The Emites (Monsters) used to live there—mobs of hulking giants, like Anakites. Along with the Anakites they were lumped in with the Rephaites (Ghosts) but in Moab they were called Emites. Horites also used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau took over and destroyed them, the same as Israel did in the land God gave them to possess.

13 God said, “It’s time now to cross the Brook Zered.” So we crossed the Brook Zered.

14-15 It took us thirty-eight years to get from Kadesh Barnea to the Brook Zered. That’s how long it took for the entire generation of soldiers from the camp to die off, as God had sworn they would. God was relentless against them until the last one was gone from the camp.

16-23 When the last of these soldiers had died, God said to me, “This is the day you cut across the territory of Moab, at Ar. When you approach the People of Ammon, don’t try and pick a fight with them because I’m not giving you any of the land of the People of Ammon for yourselves—I’ve already given it to the People of Lot.” It is also considered to have once been the land of the Rephaites. Rephaites lived there long ago—the Ammonites called them Zamzummites (Barbarians)—huge mobs of them, giants like the Anakites. God destroyed them and the Ammonites moved in and took over. It was the same with the People of Esau who live in Seir—God got rid of the Horites who lived there earlier and they moved in and took over, as you can see. Regarding the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites who came from Caphtor (Crete) wiped them out and moved in.

* * *

24-25 “On your feet now. Get started. Cross the Brook Arnon. Look: Here’s Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon and his land. I’m handing it over to you—it’s all yours. Go ahead, take it. Go to war with him. Before the day is out, I’ll make sure that all the people around here are thoroughly terrified. Rumors of you are going to spread like wildfire; they’ll totally panic.”

26-28 From the Wilderness of Kedemoth, I sent messengers to Sihon, king of Heshbon. They carried a friendly message: “Let me cross through your land on the highway. I’ll stay right on the highway; I won’t trespass right or left. I’ll pay you for any food or water we might need. Let me walk through.

29 “The People of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did this, helping me on my way until I can cross the Jordan and enter the land that God, our God, is giving us.”

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon wouldn’t let us cross his land. God, your God, turned his spirit mean and his heart hard so he could hand him over to you, as you can see that he has done.

31 Then God said to me, “Look, I’ve got the ball rolling—Sihon and his land are soon yours. Go ahead. Take it. It’s practically yours!”

32-36 So Sihon and his entire army confronted us in battle at Jahaz. God handed him, his sons, and his entire army over to us and we utterly crushed them. While we were at it we captured all his towns and totally destroyed them, a holy destruction—men, women, and children. No survivors. We took the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured and carried them off for ourselves. From Aroer on the edge of the Brook Arnon and the town in the gorge, as far as Gilead, not a single town proved too much for us; God, our God, gave every last one of them to us.

37 The only land you didn’t take, obeying God’s command, was the land of the People of Ammon, the land along the Jabbok and around the cities in the hills.

* * *

The Command to Leave Horeb

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan(A)—that is, in the Arabah(B)—opposite Suph, between Paran(C) and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb(D) to Kadesh Barnea(E) by the Mount Seir(F) road.)(G)

In the fortieth year,(H) on the first day of the eleventh month,(I) Moses proclaimed(J) to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. This was after he had defeated Sihon(K) king of the Amorites,(L) who reigned in Heshbon,(M) and at Edrei had defeated Og(N) king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.(O)

East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab,(P) Moses began to expound this law, saying:

The Lord our God said to us(Q) at Horeb,(R) “You have stayed long enough(S) at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites;(T) go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah,(U) in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev(V) and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites(W) and to Lebanon,(X) as far as the great river, the Euphrates.(Y) See, I have given you this land(Z).(AA) Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore(AB) he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

The Appointment of Leaders

At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden(AC) for me to carry alone.(AD) 10 The Lord your God has increased(AE) your numbers(AF) so that today you are as numerous(AG) as the stars in the sky.(AH) 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase(AI) you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!(AJ) 12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?(AK) 13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men(AL) from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”

14 You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.”

15 So I took(AM) the leading men of your tribes,(AN) wise and respected men,(AO) and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders(AP) of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.(AQ) 16 And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge(AR) fairly,(AS) whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you.(AT) 17 Do not show partiality(AU) in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone,(AV) for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.”(AW) 18 And at that time I told you everything you were to do.(AX)

Spies Sent Out

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites(AY) through all that vast and dreadful wilderness(AZ) that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.(BA) 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession(BB) of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid;(BC) do not be discouraged.”(BD)

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy(BE) out the land(BF) for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected(BG) twelve of you, one man from each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol(BH) and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,(BI) “It is a good land(BJ) that the Lord our God is giving us.”(BK)

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up;(BL) you rebelled(BM) against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled(BN) in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller(BO) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites(BP) there.’”

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid(BQ) of them.(BR) 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight(BS) for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried(BT) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”(BU)

32 In spite of this,(BV) you did not trust(BW) in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day,(BX) to search(BY) out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

34 When the Lord heard(BZ) what you said, he was angry(CA) and solemnly swore:(CB) 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land(CC) I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb(CD) son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.(CE)

37 Because of you the Lord became angry(CF) with me also and said, “You shall not enter(CG) it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua(CH) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage(CI) him, because he will lead(CJ) Israel to inherit(CK) it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,(CL) your children who do not yet know(CM) good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a](CN)

41 Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”(CO)

43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees(CP) and beat you down from Seir(CQ) all the way to Hormah.(CR) 45 You came back and wept before the Lord,(CS) but he paid no attention(CT) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear(CU) to you. 46 And so you stayed in Kadesh(CV) many days—all the time you spent there.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,[b](CW) as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.(CX)

Then the Lord said to me, “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;(CY) now turn north. Give the people these orders:(CZ) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau,(DA) who live in Seir.(DB) They will be afraid(DC) of you, but be very careful. Do 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.(DD) You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched(DE) over your journey through this vast wilderness.(DF) These forty years(DG) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.(DH)

So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from(DI) the Arabah(DJ) road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber,(DK) and traveled along the desert road of Moab.(DL)

Then 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(DM) to the descendants of Lot(DN) as a possession.”

10 (The Emites(DO) used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(DP) 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites,(DQ) but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites(DR) 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(DS) in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.(DT)” So we crossed the valley.

14 Thirty-eight years(DU) passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea(DV) until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation(DW) of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.(DX) 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated(DY) them from the camp.

16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.(DZ) 19 When you come to the Ammonites,(EA) do not harass them or provoke them to war,(EB) 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.(EC)

20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites,(ED) who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(EE) The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir,(EF) when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites(EG) who lived in villages as far as Gaza,(EH) the Caphtorites(EI) coming out from Caphtor[c](EJ) destroyed them and settled in their place.)

Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

24 “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge.(EK) See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite,(EL) king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage(EM) him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror(EN) and fear(EO) of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble(EP) and be in anguish because of you.”

26 From the Desert of Kedemoth(EQ) I sent messengers to Sihon(ER) king of Heshbon offering peace(ES) 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.(ET) 28 Sell us food to eat(EU) and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot(EV) 29 as 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.” 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord(EW) your God had made his spirit stubborn(EX) and his heart obstinate(EY) in order to give him into your hands,(EZ) as he has now done.

31 The 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.”(FA)

32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle(FB) at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered(FC) him over to us and we struck him down,(FD) together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed[d](FE) them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock(FF) and the plunder(FG) from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer(FH) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead,(FI) not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave(FJ) us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God,(FK) you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites,(FL) neither the land along the course of the Jabbok(FM) nor that around the towns in the hills.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:40 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Deuteronomy 2:1 Or the Sea of Reeds
  3. Deuteronomy 2:23 That is, Crete
  4. Deuteronomy 2:34 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

(There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.)

And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them;

After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:

On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:

Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:

10 The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

11 (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)

12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

13 Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.

15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.

18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

19 And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.

20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.

21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.

23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:

24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.

25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.

26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God:

27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

29 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

30 The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

31 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God,

33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers.

36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.

37 Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.

38 But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

41 Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

42 And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them. Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

45 And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

And the Lord spake unto me, saying,

Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.

10 The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites called them Emims.

12 The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them.

13 Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.

14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them.

15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17 That the Lord spake unto me, saying,

18 Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

22 As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

23 And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.

28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;

29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

31 And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33 And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us:

37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.