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v1
“Then we turned and set out toward the wilderness ^[Or “desert”] in the direction of the Red Sea, ^[Literally “sea of reeds”] as Yahweh told me, and we went around Mount Seir for many days.
v2
Yahweh spoke to me, saying, ^[Literally “to say”]
v3
‘Long enough you have been skirting this mountain; turn yourselves north,
v4
and instruct ^[Or “command”] the people, saying, ^[Literally “to say”] “You are about to cross through the territory of your brothers, the descendants ^[Or “sons”] of Esau, who are living in Seir; they will be afraid of you, and so be very careful.
v5
Do not get involved in battle ^[Or “provoke”] with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot’s breadth ^[Literally “a sole’s foot of space”] of it; since I have given Mount Seir as a possession for Esau.
v6
You shall buy food from them so that you may eat; and also you shall purchase water from them with money so that you may drink.
v7
The fact of the matter is, Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work you have done; ^[Literally “the work of your hand”] he knows your travels ^[Literally “your journeying”] with respect to this great wilderness; forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.“‘
v8
And so we passed by our brothers, the descendants ^[Or “sons”] of Esau, who live in Seir, past the road of the Arabah, ^[Or “Jordan Valley” since the Arabah is an extension of it] from Elath and Ezion Geber, and we turned and traveled along the route of the desert ^[Or “wilderness”] of Moab.
v9
And Yahweh said to me, ‘You shall not attack Moab, and you shall not engage in war ^[Or “battle”] with them, for I will not give you any of his land as a possession; I have given Ar to the descendants ^[Or “sons”] of Lot as a possession.‘
v10
(The Emim previously lived in it, a people large, ^[Or “great” in the sense of influential] numerous, and tall, like the Anakites.
v11
They were reckoned also as Rephaim as the Anakites were; but the Moabites called them Emim.
v12
The Horites previously lived in Seir, but the descendants ^[Or “sons”] of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from among themselves, ^[Literally “from their presence”] as Israel did with respect to the land of their ^[Literally “its/his”] possession that Yahweh gave to them.)
v13
So now arise and cross over the wadi ^[A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season] of Zered yourselves; and so we crossed the wadi ^[A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season] of Zered.
v14
Now the length of time ^[Literally “days”] that we had traveled from Kadesh Barnea until the time when we crossed the wadi ^[A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season] of Zered was thirty-eight years, until the perishing of all of that generation; that is, the men of war from the midst of the camp as Yahweh had sworn to them.
v15
The hand of Yahweh was against them to root them out from the midst of the camp until they perished completely.
v16
“And then ^[Literally “And it happened”] when all the men of war ^[Or “battle”] had died ^[Literally “had finished/completed to die”] from among the people,
v17
Yahweh spoke to me, saying, ^[Literally “to say”]
v18
‘You are about to cross over the boundary of Moab today ^[Literally “the day”] at Ar.
v19
When you approach the border of ^[Literally “opposite”] the Ammonites, ^[Literally “the sons/children of Ammon”] you shall not harass them, and you shall not get involved in battle with them, for I have not given the land of the Ammonites ^[Literally “the sons/children of Ammon”] to you as a possession; because I have given it to the descendants ^[Or “sons”] of Lot as a possession.
v20
(It is also considered the land of Rephaim; Rephaim lived in it previously, ^[Literally “before”] and the Ammonites called them Zamzummim,
v21
a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakites; Yahweh destroyed them from before them, ^[That is, the Ammonites] and they dispossessed them and settled in place of them,
v22
just as he did for the descendants ^[Or “sons”] of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them ^[Literally “from the face/presence of them”] and dispossessed them, and then they settled in their ^[Hebrew “them”] place up to this day.
v23
And also the Avvites, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and the Caphtorim, who came out from Caphtor, destroyed them and then settled in their place.
v24
Arise, ^[Or “Get up”] set out and cross over the wadi ^[A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season] of Arnon. Look! I have given Sihon the Amorite, the king of Heshbon, and his land into your hand; begin to take possession of it, and engage with him in battle.
v25
This day I will begin to place the dread of you ^[Literally “your dread”] and the fear of you before ^[Literally “upon the faces of”] the peoples under all the heavens. They will hear the report about you, ^[Literally “your report”] and so they will shake and tremble because of you.’ ^[Literally “from before you”]
v26
“So I sent messengers from the wilderness ^[Or “desert”] of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon; I sent terms of peace, saying, ^[Literally “to say”]
v27
‘Let me cross through your land and only along the road ^[Literally “in the road, in the road”] I will go; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left.
v28
Food for money you shall sell me, so that I may eat, and water for money you will give to me, so that I may drink; just let me cross on foot.
v29
Just as the descendants ^[Or “the children/sons of”] of Esau did for me, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, until I cross the Jordan into the land that Yahweh our God is giving to us.‘
v30
But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing to let us cross through his territory because Yahweh your God hardened his spirit and made him obstinate ^[Literally “made firm his heart”] in order to give him ^[Literally “to give him,” indicating purpose] into your hand, just as he has now done. ^[Literally “as it is this day”]
v31
Yahweh said to me, ‘Look! I have begun to give over to you ^[Literally “to the face of you”] Sihon and his land; begin to take possession of his land.’ ^[Literally, “take possession in order to possess his land”]
v32
Then Sihon and all his people came out to meet us for battle at Jahaz.
v33
And so Yahweh our God gave him over to us, ^[Literally “before us”] and we struck him down, and his sons ^[Or “descendants”] and all of his people.
v34
So we captured all of his cities at that time, and we destroyed each town of males and the women and the children; we did not leave behind a survivor.
v35
We took only the livestock as spoil for ourselves, ^[Hebrew “us”] and also the booty of the cities that we had captured.
v36
From Aroer, which is on the edge of the wadi ^[A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season] of Arnon and the city that was in the wadi ^[A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season] on up to Gilead, there was not a city that was inaccessible to us; Yahweh our God gave everything ^[Literally “the whole”] to us. ^[Literally “before us”]
v37
Only the land of the Ammonites ^[Literally “children/sons of Ammon”] you did not approach, all along the whole upper region of the Jabbok River ^[Literally “wadi,” which here refers to a flowing river] and the towns of the hill country, according to all that Yahweh our God had instructed.