Conquests Recounted

(A)Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, came out [a]with all his people to meet us in battle at Edrei. But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him and all his people and his land over to you; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.’ So the Lord our God also handed over to us Og, king of Bashan, with all his people, and we struck [b]them until no survivor was [c]left. We captured all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of (B)Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many [d]unwalled towns. We [e]utterly destroyed them, as we did to (C)Sihon king of Heshbon, [f](D)utterly destroying [g]the men, women, and children of every city. (E)But all the animals and the spoils of the cities we took as our plunder.

(F)So at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the [h]Valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon (Sidonians (G)call Hermon (H)Sirion, and the Amorites call it (I)Senir): 10 all the cities of the plateau, all Gilead, and (J)all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the (K)Rephaim. Behold, his [i]bed was a [j]bed of iron; it is in (L)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits, and its width four cubits by [k]the usual cubit.)

12 “So we took possession of this land at that time. From (M)Aroer, which is by the [l]Valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of (N)Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. 13 The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob. (As to all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim. 14 (O)Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, that is, Bashan, and named [m]it after his own name: [n]Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 (P)To Machir I gave Gilead. 16 To the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the [o]Valley of Arnon, the middle of the [p]valley [q]as a border, and as far as the [r]river (Q)Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan [s]as a border, from [t](R)Chinnereth (S)even as far as the sea of the Arabah, (T)the Salt Sea, [u]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘(U)The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it; (V)all you [v]valiant men shall cross over armed ahead of your brothers, the sons of Israel. 19 (W)However, your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have (X)much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you, 20 (Y)until the Lord gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. (Z)Then you may return, each man to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; the Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22 Do not fear them, for the Lord your God (AA)is the One fighting for you.’

23 “I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘Lord [w]God, You have begun to show Your servant (AB)Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what (AC)god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? 25 Please let me cross over and see the (AD)good land that is beyond the Jordan, [x]that good hill country, and Lebanon.’ 26 But (AE)the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; instead, the Lord said to me, ‘[y]Enough! Do not speak to Me any more about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of (AF)Pisgah and raise your eyes to the west, the north, the south, and the east, and see it with your eyes; (AG)for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28 (AH)But commission Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, (AI)for he shall go across [z]leading this people, and he will give to them, as an inheritance, the land which you will see.’ 29 So we remained in the valley opposite (AJ)Beth-peor.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 3:1 Lit he and
  2. Deuteronomy 3:3 Lit him
  3. Deuteronomy 3:3 Lit left to him
  4. Deuteronomy 3:5 Or rural
  5. Deuteronomy 3:6 Or put them under the ban
  6. Deuteronomy 3:6 Or putting under the ban
  7. Deuteronomy 3:6 Lit every city of men...
  8. Deuteronomy 3:8 Or wadi
  9. Deuteronomy 3:11 Or couch
  10. Deuteronomy 3:11 Or couch
  11. Deuteronomy 3:11 Lit by a man’s forearm; about 14 ft. long and 6 ft. wide or 4 m and 1.8 m
  12. Deuteronomy 3:12 Or wadi
  13. Deuteronomy 3:14 Lit them
  14. Deuteronomy 3:14 I.e., the towns of Jair
  15. Deuteronomy 3:16 Or wadi
  16. Deuteronomy 3:16 Or wadi
  17. Deuteronomy 3:16 Lit and
  18. Deuteronomy 3:16 Or wadi
  19. Deuteronomy 3:17 Lit and
  20. Deuteronomy 3:17 I.e., the Sea of Galilee
  21. Deuteronomy 3:17 Lit under
  22. Deuteronomy 3:18 Lit sons of valor
  23. Deuteronomy 3:24 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  24. Deuteronomy 3:25 Lit this
  25. Deuteronomy 3:26 Lit Much for you
  26. Deuteronomy 3:28 Lit before this

Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

And the Lord said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining.

And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.

And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.

And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon;

(Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)

10 All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

12 And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

13 And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.

14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashanhavothjair, unto this day.

15 And I gave Gilead unto Machir.

16 And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;

17 The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, under Ashdothpisgah eastward.

18 And I commanded you at that time, saying, The Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war.

19 But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you;

20 Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.

21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the Lord do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest.

22 Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God he shall fight for you.

23 And I besought the Lord at that time, saying,

24 O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

26 But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.

27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

29 So we abode in the valley over against Bethpeor.

1-2 “Next we turned toward King Og’s land of Bashan. He immediately mobilized his army and attacked us at Edrei. But the Lord told me not to be afraid of him. ‘All his people and his land are yours,’ the Lord told me. ‘You will do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites at Heshbon.’ So the Lord helped us fight against King Og and his people, and we killed them all. We conquered all sixty of his cities, the entire Argob region of Bashan. These were well-fortified cities with high walls and barred gates. Of course we also took all of the unwalled towns. We utterly destroyed the kingdom of Bashan just as we had destroyed King Sihon’s kingdom at Heshbon, killing the entire population—men, women, and children alike. But we kept the cattle and loot for ourselves.

“We now possessed all the land of the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan River—all the land from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon. (The Sidonians called Mount Hermon ‘Sirion,’ while the Amorites called it ‘Senir.’) 10 We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau, and all of Gilead and Bashan as far as the cities of Salecah and Edrei.

11 “Incidentally, King Og of Bashan was the last of the giant Rephaim. His iron bedstead is kept in a museum at Rabbah, one of the cities of the Ammonites, and measures thirteen and a half feet long by six feet wide.

12 “At that time I gave the conquered land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. To the tribes of Reuben and Gad I gave the area beginning at Aroer on the Arnon River, plus half of Mount Gilead, including its cities. 13 The half-tribe of Manasseh received the remainder of Gilead and all of the former kingdom of King Og, the Argob region. (Bashan is sometimes called ‘The Land of the Rephaim.’) 14 The clan of Jair, of the tribe of Manasseh, took over the whole Argob region (Bashan) to the borders of the Geshurites and Maacathites. They renamed their country after themselves, calling it Havvoth-jair (meaning ‘Jair’s Villages’) as it is still known today. 15 Then I gave Gilead to the clan of Machir. 16 The tribes of Reuben and Gad received the area extending from the Jabbok River in Gilead (which was the Ammonite frontier) to the middle of the valley of the Arnon River. 17 They also received the Arabah (or wasteland), bounded by the Jordan River on the west, from Chinnereth to Mount Pisgah and the Dead Sea (also called the Sea of the Arabah).

18 “At that time I reminded the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh that, although the Lord had given them the land, they could not begin settling down until their armed men led the other tribes across the Jordan to the land the Lord was giving them.

19 “‘But your wives and children,’ I told them, ‘may live here in the cities the Lord has given you, caring for your many cattle 20 until you return after the Lord has given victory to the other tribes too. When they conquer the land the Lord your God has given them across the Jordan River, then you may return here to your own land.’

21 “Then I said to Joshua, ‘You have seen what the Lord your God has done to those two kings. You will do the same to all the kingdoms on the other side of the Jordan. 22 Don’t be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’

23-25 “At that time I made this plea to God: ‘O Lord God, please let me cross over into the Promised Land—the good land beyond the Jordan River with its rolling hills—and Lebanon. I want to see the result of all the greatness and power you have been showing us; for what God in all of heaven or earth can do what you have done for us?’

26 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not let me cross over. ‘Speak of it no more,’ he ordered, 27 ‘but go to the top of Mount Pisgah where you can look out in every direction, and there you will see the land in the distance. But you shall not cross the Jordan River. 28 Commission Joshua to replace you, and then encourage him, for he shall lead the people across to conquer the land you will see from the mountaintop.’

29 “So we remained in the valley near Beth-peor.