¹ “Then we turned and set out toward the wilderness¹ in the direction of the ⌞Red Sea⌟,² as Yahweh told me, and we went around Mount Seir for many days.

1. Or “desert”
2. Literally “sea of reeds”

² Yahweh spoke to me, ⌞saying⌟,¹

1. Literally “to say”

³ ‘Long enough you have been skirting this mountain; turn yourselves north,

⁴ and instruct¹ the people, ⌞saying⌟,² “You are about to cross through the territory of your brothers, the descendants³ of Esau, who are living in Seir; they will be afraid of you, and so be very careful.

1. Or “command”
2. Literally “to say”
3. Or “sons”

⁵ Do not get involved in battle¹ with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even ⌞a foot’s breadth⌟² of it; since I have given Mount Seir as a possession for Esau.

1. Or “provoke”
2. Literally “a sole’s foot of space”

⁶ 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.

⁷ The fact of the matter is, Yahweh your God has blessed you in ⌞all the work you have done⌟;¹ he knows ⌞your travels⌟² with respect to this great wilderness; forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.” ’

1. Literally “the work of your hand”
2. Literally “your journeying”

⁸ And so we passed by our brothers, the descendants¹ of Esau, who live in Seir, past the road of the Arabah,² from Elath and Ezion Geber, and we turned and traveled along the route of the desert³ of Moab.

1. Or “sons”
2. Or “Jordan Valley” since the Arabah is an extension of it
3. Or “wilderness”

⁹ And Yahweh said to me, ‘You shall not attack Moab, and you shall not engage in war¹ with them, for I will not give you any of his land as a possession; I have given Ar to the descendants² of Lot as a possession.’

1. Or “battle”
2. Or “sons”

¹⁰ (The Emim previously lived in it, a people large,¹ numerous, and tall, like the Anakites.

1. Or “great” in the sense of influential

¹¹ They were reckoned also as Rephaim as the Anakites were; but the Moabites called them Emim.

¹² The Horites previously lived in Seir, but the descendants¹ of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them ⌞from among themselves⌟,² as Israel did with respect to the land of their³ possession that Yahweh gave to them.)

1. Or “sons”
2. Literally “from their presence”
3. Literally “its/his”

¹³ So now arise and cross over the wadi¹ of Zered yourselves; and so we crossed the wadi² of Zered.

1. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
2. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season

¹⁴ Now the ⌞length of time⌟¹ that we had traveled from Kadesh Barnea until the time when we crossed the wadi² 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.

1. Literally “days”
2. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season

¹⁵ The hand of Yahweh was against them to root them out from the midst of the camp until they perished completely.

¹⁶ “⌞And then⌟¹ when all the men of war² ⌞had died⌟³ from among the people,

1. Literally “And it happened”
2. Or “battle”
3. Literally “had finished/completed to die”

¹⁷ Yahweh spoke to me, ⌞saying⌟,¹

1. Literally “to say”

¹⁸ ‘You are about to cross over the boundary of Moab ⌞today⌟¹ at Ar.

1. Literally “the day”

¹⁹ When you approach ⌞the border of⌟¹ the ⌞Ammonites⌟,² 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⌟³ to you as a possession; because I have given it to the descendants⁴ of Lot as a possession.

1. Literally “opposite”
2. Literally “the sons/children of Ammon”
3. Literally “the sons/children of Ammon”
4. Or “sons”

²⁰ (It is also considered the land of Rephaim; Rephaim lived in it ⌞previously⌟,¹ and the Ammonites called them Zamzummim,

1. Literally “before”

²¹ a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakites; Yahweh destroyed them from before them,¹ and they dispossessed them and settled in place of them,

1. That is, the Ammonites

²² just as he did for the descendants¹ of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from ⌞before them⌟² and dispossessed them, and then they settled in their³ place up to this day.

1. Or “sons”
2. Literally “from the face/presence of them”
3. Hebrew “them”

²³ 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.

²⁴ Arise,¹ set out and cross over the wadi² 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.

1. Or “Get up”
2. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season

²⁵ This day I will begin to place ⌞the dread of you⌟¹ and the fear of you ⌞before⌟² the peoples under all the heavens. They will hear ⌞the report about you⌟,³ and so they will shake and tremble ⌞because of you⌟.’⁴

1. Literally “your dread”
2. Literally “upon the faces of”
3. Literally “your report”
4. Literally “from before you”

²⁶ “So I sent messengers from the wilderness¹ of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon; I sent terms of peace, ⌞saying⌟,²

1. Or “desert”
2. Literally “to say”

²⁷ ‘Let me cross through your land and ⌞only along the road⌟¹ I will go; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left.

1. Literally “in the road, in the road”

²⁸ 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.

²⁹ Just as the descendants¹ 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.’

1. Or “the children/sons of”

³⁰ 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⌟¹ ⌞in order to give him⌟² into your hand, ⌞just as he has now done⌟.³

1. Literally “made firm his heart”
2. Literally “to give him,” indicating purpose
3. Literally “as it is this day”

³¹ Yahweh said to me, ‘Look! I have begun to give ⌞over to you⌟¹ Sihon and his land; begin ⌞to take possession of his land⌟.’²

1. Literally “to the face of you”
2. Literally, “take possession in order to possess his land”

³² Then Sihon and all his people came out to meet us for battle at Jahaz.

³³ And so Yahweh our God gave him over ⌞to us⌟,¹ and we struck him down, and his sons² and all of his people.

1. Literally “before us”
2. Or “descendants”

³⁴ 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.

³⁵ We took only the livestock as spoil for ourselves,¹ and also the booty of the cities that we had captured.

1. Hebrew “us”

³⁶ From Aroer, which is on the edge of the wadi¹ of Arnon and the city that was in the wadi² on up to Gilead, there was not a city that was inaccessible to us; Yahweh our God gave ⌞everything⌟³ ⌞to us⌟.⁴

1. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
2. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
3. Literally “the whole”
4. Literally “before us”

³⁷ Only the land of ⌞the Ammonites⌟¹ you did not approach, all along the whole upper region of the Jabbok ⌞River⌟² and the towns of the hill country, according to all that Yahweh our God had instructed.

1. Literally “children/sons of Ammon”
2. Literally “wadi,” which here refers to a flowing river