The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 2 -

“And setting out from there, we arrived at the wilderness which leads to the Red Sea, just as the Lord had spoken to me. And we encompassed Mount Seir for a long time.

And the Lord said to me:

‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north.

And instruct the people, saying: You shall cross through the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, and they will fear you.

Therefore, take care diligently, lest you be moved against them. For I will not give to you from their land even as much as the step that one foot can tread upon, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink.

The Lord your God has blessed you in every work of your hands. The Lord your God, dwelling with you, knows your journey, how you crossed through this great wilderness over forty years, and how you have been lacking in nothing.’

And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab.

And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fight against the Moabites, nor should you go to battle against them. For I will not give to you anything from their land, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim.

They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim.

The Horites also formerly lived at Seir. When these had been driven out and destroyed, the sons of Esau lived there, just as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to him.

Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place.

Then, from the time that we advanced from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the torrent Zered, there were thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of the men who were fit for war had been consumed out of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn.

For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp.

Then, after all the fighting men had fallen,

the Lord spoke to me, saying:

‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar.

And when you have arrived in the vicinity of the sons of Ammon, be careful that you do not fight against them, nor should you be moved to battle. For I will not give to you from the land of the sons of Ammon, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim.

They are a people, great and numerous, and of lofty stature, like the Anakim, whom the Lord wiped away before their face. And he caused them to live there in place of them,

just as he had done for the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, wiping out the Horites and delivering their land to them, which they possess even to the present time.

Likewise the Hevites, who were living in small villages as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians, who went forth from Cappadocia, and they wiped them out and lived in their place.

The Defeat of Sihon

(Numbers 21:21–30)

‘Rise up and cross the torrent Arnon! Behold, I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, into your hand, and so, begin to possess his land and to engage in battle against him.

Today I will begin to send the terror and dread of you among the peoples who are living under all of heaven, so that, when they hear your name, they may be afraid, and may tremble in the manner of a woman giving birth, and may be gripped by anguish.’

Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying:

‘We will cross through your land. We will advance by the public way. We will not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.

Sell us food for a price, so that we may eat. Provide us with water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that you allow us to pass through,

just as the sons of Esau have done, who live at Seir, and the Moabites, who abide in Ar, until we arrive at the Jordan, and we cross to the land which the Lord our God will give to us.’

And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, was not willing to grant passage to us. For the Lord your God had hardened his spirit, and had fastened his heart, so that he would be delivered into your hands, just as you now see.(a)

And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’

And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz.

And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people.

And we seized all his cities at that time, putting to death their inhabitants: men as well as women and children. We left nothing of them,

except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities,

from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town which is situated in a valley, all the way to Gilead. There was not a village or city which escaped from our hands. The Lord our God delivered everything to us,

except the land of the sons of Ammon, which we did not approach, and all that is adjacent to the torrent Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God prohibited to us.”

Footnotes

(a)2:30 Hardened, etc:That is, in punishment of his past sins he left him to his own stubborn and perverse disposition, which drew him to his ruin. See the note on Ex. 7:3.(Challoner)

Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke to me; and we encircled Mount Seir many days.

The LORD spoke to me, saying,

“You have encircled this mountain long enough. Turn northward.

Command the people, saying, ‘You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore be careful.

Don’t contend with them; for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession.

You shall purchase food from them for money, that you may eat. You shall also buy water from them for money, that you may drink.’”

For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has known your walking through this great wilderness. These forty years, the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.

So we passed by from our brothers, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

The LORD said to me, “Don’t bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you any of his land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.”

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

These also are considered to be Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim.

The Horites also lived in Seir in the past, but the children of Esau succeeded them. They destroyed them from before them, and lived in their place, as Israel did to the land of his possession, which the LORD gave to them.)

“Now rise up and cross over the brook Zered.” We went over the brook Zered.

The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the middle of the camp, as the LORD swore to them.

Moreover the LORD’s hand was against them, to destroy them from the middle of the camp, until they were consumed.

So, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

the LORD spoke to me, saying,

“You are to pass over Ar, the border of Moab, today.

When you come near the border of the children of Ammon, don’t bother them, nor contend with them; for I will not give you any of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.”

(That also is considered a land of Rephaim. Rephaim lived there in the past, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,

a great people, many, and tall, as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them from before Israel, and they succeeded them, and lived in their place,

as he did for the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place even to this day.

Then the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza: the Caphtorim, who came out of Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.)

The Defeat of Sihon

(Numbers 21:21–30)

“Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.”

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

“Let me pass through your land. I will go along by the highway. I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left.

You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink. Just let me pass through on my feet,

as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me, until I pass over the Jordan into the land which the LORD our God gives us.”

But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as it is today.

The LORD said to me, “Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you. Begin to possess, that you may inherit his land.”

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

The LORD our God delivered him up before us; and we struck him, his sons, and all his people.

We took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones. We left no one remaining.

Only the livestock we took for plunder for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities which we had taken.

From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The LORD our God delivered up all before us.

Only to the land of the children of Ammon you didn’t come near: all the banks of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the LORD our God forbade us.