Deuteronomy 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
Northward Along Edom. 1 (A)Then we turned and proceeded into the wilderness on the Red Sea road,(B) as the Lord had told me, and circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time. 2 Finally the Lord said to me, 3 You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north. 4 Command the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful 5 not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.(C) 6 You shall purchase from them with money the food you eat; even the water you drink you shall buy from them with money. 7 Surely, the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all your undertakings; he has been concerned[a] about your journey through this vast wilderness. It is now forty years that the Lord, your God, has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.(D) 8 So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind us the Arabah route, Elath, and Ezion-geber.
Along Moab. Then we turned and passed on toward the wilderness of Moab. 9 (E)And the Lord said to me, Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.(F) 10 (Formerly the Emim lived there, a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim;(G) 11 like the Anakim they are considered Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim.(H) 12 In Seir, however, the former inhabitants were the Horites;(I) the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, clearing them out of the way and dwelling in their place, just as Israel has done in the land of its possession which the Lord gave it.) 13 Now get ready to cross the Wadi Zered.
So we crossed the Wadi Zered. 14 (J)Now thirty-eight years had elapsed between our departure from Kadesh-barnea and the crossing of the Wadi Zered; in the meantime the whole generation of soldiers had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn they should. 15 Indeed the Lord’s own hand was against them, to rout them from the camp completely.
Along Ammon. 16 (K)When at length death had put an end to all the soldiers among the people, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 You are now about to leave Ar and the territory of Moab behind. 19 As you come opposite the Ammonites,(L) do not show hostility or come in conflict with them, for I will not give you possession of any land of the Ammonites, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession. 20 (This also is considered a country of the Rephaim; formerly the Rephaim dwelt there. The Ammonites call them Zamzummim,(M) 21 a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim. But these, too, the Lord cleared out of the way for the Ammonites, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place.(N) 22 He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by clearing the Horites out of their way, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place down to the present.(O) 23 As for the Avvim, who once lived in villages in the vicinity of Gaza,[b] the Caphtorim, migrating from Caphtor, cleared them away and dwelt in their place.)(P)
Defeat of Sihon. 24 (Q)Advance now across the Wadi Arnon. I now deliver into your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession; engage him in battle.(R) 25 This day I will begin to put a fear and dread of you into the peoples everywhere under heaven, so that at the mention of your name they will quake and tremble before you.
26 So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace: 27 “Let me pass through your country. I will travel only on the road. I will not turn aside either to the right or to the left. 28 The food I eat you will sell me for money, and the water I drink, you will give me for money. Only let me march through, 29 as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar have done, until I cross the Jordan into the land the Lord, our God, is about to give us.”(S) 30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through his land, because the Lord, your God, made him stubborn in mind and obstinate in heart that he might deliver him into your power, as indeed he has now done.
31 Then the Lord said to me, Now that I have already begun to give over to you Sihon and his land, begin to take possession. 32 So Sihon and all his people advanced against us to join battle at Jahaz; 33 but since the Lord, our God, had given him over to us, we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 (T)At that time we captured all his cities and put every city under the ban,[c] men, women and children; we left no survivor. 35 Our only plunder was the livestock and the spoils of the captured cities. 36 From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and from the town in the wadi itself, as far as Gilead,(U) no city was too well fortified for us. All of them the Lord, our God, gave over to us. 37 However, just as the Lord, our God, commanded us, you did not encroach upon any of the Ammonite land, neither the region bordering on the Wadi Jabbok, nor the cities of the highlands.(V)
Footnotes
- 2:7 Concerned: lit., “known”; cf. Ex 2:25.
- 2:23 Gaza: later a stronghold of the Philistines (cf. Jos 13:3). Caphtor: the island of Crete.
- 2:34 Under the ban: in Hebrew, herem, which means to devote to the Lord (cf. 7:1–5; 20:10–18). The biblical text often presents herem as the total extermination of a population as a manifestation of the will of the Lord. It is historically doubtful that Israel ever literally carried out this theological program.
Deuteronomy 2
King James Version
2 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.
2 And the Lord spake unto me, saying,
3 Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.
4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:
5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.
7 For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
8 And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
9 And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
10 The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;
11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites called them Emims.
12 The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them.
13 Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.
14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them.
15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.
16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
17 That the Lord spake unto me, saying,
18 Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:
19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.
20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:
22 As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:
23 And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)
24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;
29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.
30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
31 And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
33 And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:
35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us:
37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.