| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir. | 1“Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, just as the LORD had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time. |
| 2At this time the LORD said to me, | 2“Then at last the LORD said to me, |
| 3“You have been wandering around this hill country long enough; turn to the north | 3‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north. |
| 4and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful. | 4Give these orders to the people: “You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful. |
| 5Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession. | 5Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land. |
| 6You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’ ” | 6If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it. |
| 7Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing. | 7For the LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’ |
| 8So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of the Wilderness of Moab. | 8“So we bypassed the territory of our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We avoided the road through the Arabah Valley that comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber. “Then as we turned north along the desert route through Moab, |
| 9Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.” | 9the LORD warned us, ‘Do not bother the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given them Ar as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’” |
| 10(The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. | 10(A race of giants called the Emites had once lived in the area of Ar. They were as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites, another race of giants. |
| 11Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites. | 11Both the Emites and the Anakites are also known as the Rephaites, though the Moabites call them Emites. |
| 12The Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land that the LORD gave them as their possession.) | 12In earlier times the Horites had lived in Seir, but they were driven out and displaced by the descendants of Esau, just as Israel drove out the people of Canaan when the LORD gave Israel their land.) |
| 13“Now arise and cross over the Brook of Zered.” So we crossed over the Brook of Zered. | 13Moses continued, “Then the LORD said to us, ‘Get moving. Cross the Zered Brook.’ So we crossed the brook. |
| 14The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the Brook of Zered was thirty-eight years, until that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. | 14“Thirty-eight years passed from the time we first left Kadesh-barnea until we finally crossed the Zered Brook! By then, all the men old enough to fight in battle had died in the wilderness, as the LORD had vowed would happen. |
| 15Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished. | 15The LORD struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community. |
| 16Now when all the fighting men among the people had died, | 16“When all the men of fighting age had died, |
| 17the LORD said to me, | 17the LORD said to me, |
| 18“Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar. | 18‘Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar |
| 19But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.” | 19and enter the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. But do not bother them or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’” |
| 20(That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. | 20(That area was once considered the land of the Rephaites, who had lived there, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummites. |
| 21They were a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place, | 21They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land. |
| 22just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. | 22He had done the same for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, for he destroyed the Horites so they could settle there in their place. The descendants of Esau live there to this day. |
| 23And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.) | 23A similar thing happened when the Caphtorites from Crete invaded and destroyed the Avvites, who had lived in villages in the area of Gaza.) |
| 24“Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. | 24Moses continued, “Then the LORD said, ‘Now get moving! Cross the Arnon Gorge. Look, I will hand over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy the land. |
| 25This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.” | 25Beginning today I will make people throughout the earth terrified because of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear.’” Victory over Sihon of Heshbon |
| 26So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying, | 26Moses continued, “From the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with this proposal of peace: |
| 27“Let us pass through your land; we will stay on the main road. We will not turn to the right or to the left. | 27‘Let us travel through your land. We will stay on the main road and won’t turn off into the fields on either side. |
| 28You can sell us food to eat and water to drink in exchange for silver. Only let us pass through on foot, | 28Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land. |
| 29just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving us.” | 29The descendants of Esau who live in Seir allowed us to go through their country, and so did the Moabites, who live in Ar. Let us pass through until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.’ |
| 30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day. | 30“But King Sihon of Heshbon refused to allow us to pass through, because the LORD your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat him, as he has now done. |
| 31Then the LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.” | 31“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to conquer and occupy his land.’ |
| 32So Sihon and his whole army came out for battle against us at Jahaz. | 32“Then King Sihon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jahaz. |
| 33And the LORD our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and his whole army. | 33But the LORD our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people. |
| 34At that time we captured all his cities and devoted to destruction the people of every city, including women and children. We left no survivors. | 34We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone—men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared. |
| 35We carried off for ourselves only the livestock and the plunder from the cities we captured. | 35We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked. |
| 36From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them. | 36“The LORD our God also helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us. |
| 37But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD our God had forbidden. | 37However, we avoided the land of the Ammonites all along the Jabbok River and the towns in the hill country—all the places the LORD our God had commanded us to leave alone. |
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