Deuteronomy

The Years in the Desert

We, therefore, turned back and set out towards the desert by the way leading to the Red Sea, as the Lord had commanded me. We walked around the mountains of Seir for a long time.

Then, the Lord said to me:

‘You have been going around these mountains for a long time; now, go north.

Give this command to the people: You are to pass through the territory of your brothers, the children of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you,

but be very careful that you do not attack them because I will not give you even the parcel of land on which you stand. Know that I have given Esau the Seir mountains as a possession.

You shall buy food and water from them with your silver.

Think of all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on you in all our work and how he has been present in your journey through the desert. The Lord has been with you for forty years, and never have you been in want.

So we passed through the land of our brothers, the children of Esau who live in Seir. We left the Arabah road that led to Elath and Ezion-Geber and took the road into the desert of Moab.

Then the Lord said to me: ‘Do not attack Moab or provoke them to fight, since I will not give you any of their land. Know that I have given Ar to the children of Lot as a possession.’

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

And just like the Anakim, they were also known as giants, but the Moabites called them Emim.

And the Horites also used to live in Seir, but the children of Esau drove them out, killed them, and settled in their place, as Israel did in the land they possess and which the Lord gave them.)

And now rise and pass through the brook of Zered.’ We then went to the brook of Zered.

We walked for thirty-eight years from Kadesh-Barnea until we crossed the brook, and the entire generation of men old enough to fight perished, just as the Lord said.

Even the hand of the Lord was against them, dealing them their death in the camps until all of them perished.

When finally all those old enough to fight died,

the Lord said to me:

‘Today you will pass through the frontiers of Moab, facing the city of Ar,

and you will meet these people. Do not attack or defy them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. Know that I have given that land to the children of Lot.’

(This land was also considered the land of the giants who formerly lived there and whom the Ammonites called Zamzummim.

They were great and numerous people, tall and of enormous stature, similar to the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them through the hand of the Ammonites, and in their place, he made the Ammonites dwell in the land.

He did the same with the people of Esau who dwell in Seir. They destroyed the Horites and took possession of their land to this day.

He dealt in the same manner with the Avvim who lived in the camps as far as Gaza. They were expelled by the Caphtorim, who killed them and occupied their place.)

Rise and go to the brook of Arnon. Look, I give into your hands Sihon the Amorite, the king of Heshbon, and all his land.

Begin, right now, to occupy his land and fight. And I, for my part, will begin to instill the dread and fear of you among all the peoples under heaven. They will tremble when they hear your name, tremble like a woman in childbirth, and lose courage when they face you.

Israel Defeats Sihon, King of Heshbon.

From the desert of Kedemoth, I sent messengers to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with these words of peace:

“I wish to pass through your land, but I will go only by the road without turning aside either to the right or the left.

We ask you to sell us food for money so that we may eat, and water so that we may drink. And let us only pass through as the children of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for us,

until we come to the Jordan and enter the land which the Lord, our God, gives to us.”

But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, would not let us pass through his land, (and the Lord made him stubborn so that our God might give him into our hands.)

And the Lord told me: “You have to know that I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you; begin conquering his land.”

Then, Sihon came out with all his men to meet us in battle at Jahaz.

And the Lord, our God, gave him over to us. We defeated him together with his sons and all his men.

At that time, we captured all their cities and pronounced an anathema over them, killing all their inhabitants, men, women, and children without sparing anyone,

except the animals which were part of the plunder of the cities you have occupied.

From Aroer, the city at the edge of the brook Arnon, up to Gilead, there was neither a village nor a town that we did not capture. The Lord, our God, gave everything over to us,

except the land of the Ammonites, which we did not touch, the banks of the river Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, that is, all the places that the Lord, our God, forbade us to take.