| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"We turned and set out for the desert on the road to the Reed Sea, just as the LORD had directed me. We traveled around Mount Seir for many days. | 1Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days. |
| 2Then the LORD told me, | 2The LORD then said to me, |
| 3You've walked around this mountain long enough. Turn northward | 3You've been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north. |
| 4and command this people, "You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau who live around Seir. They will be afraid of you so be very careful. | 4Command the people: You are about to travel 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. |
| 5Don't fight them, because I won't give you any part of their land, not even the size of a footprint. I have given Mount Seir to Esau as their property. | 5Don't fight with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even an inch of it, because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession. |
| 6You may buy food to eat and water to drink from them, paying with cash."' | 6You may purchase food from them with silver, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink. |
| 7Indeed, the LORD your God blessed all the works of your hands. He knows about your travels through this vast desert. The LORD your God was with you these past 40 years, so that you didn't lack anything. | 7For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you this past 40 years, and you have lacked nothing.'" |
| 8So we bypassed our relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir. We turned through the Arabah desert from Elath, and from Ezion-geber we traveled the desert road to Moab." | 8So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. We traveled along the road to the Wilderness of Moab. |
| 9"Then the LORD told me, 'Don't harass Moab or provoke them to war, because I won't give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their property. | 9The LORD said to me, 'Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.'" |
| 10(The Emites, a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakim, lived there before. | 10The Emim, a great and numerous people as tall as the Anakim, had previously lived there. |
| 11Like the Anakim, they were thought of as Rephaim, but the Moabites called them Emites. | 11They were also regarded as Rephaim, like the Anakim, though the Moabites called them Emim. |
| 12The Horites used to live in Seir before the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, exterminated them, and settled there instead, just as Israel will do in the land of its possession, which the LORD gave them.) | 12The Horites had previously lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out, destroying them completely and settling in their place, just as Israel did in the land of its possession the LORD gave them." |
| 13Now get going and cross the Wadi Zered.' And so we crossed the Wadi Zered. | 13The LORD said, 'Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.' So we crossed the Zered Valley. |
| 14Now from the time we left Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was 38 years. All of that generation, the soldiers in the camp, were destroyed just as the LORD swore they would be. | 14The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley was 38 years until the entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. |
| 15Indeed, the hand of the LORD was against them to root them out from the camp until they were utterly destroyed." | 15Indeed, the LORD's hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp until they had all perished." |
| 16"And so all the soldiers among the people died. | 16When all the fighting men had died among the people, |
| 17Then the LORD spoke to me, | 17the LORD spoke to me, |
| 18Today, you are about to cross the border of Moab at Ar. | 18Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar. |
| 19When you come to the Ammonites, don't harass or provoke them to war, for I won't give any part of Ammonite land to you, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their property. | 19When you get close to the Ammonites, don't show any hostility to them or fight with them, for I will not give you any of the Ammonites' land as a possession; I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.'" |
| 20"'(Indeed, it was considered Rephaim territory, since the Rephaim used to lived there. The Ammonites called them Zamzummites, | 20This too used to be regarded as the land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim lived there previously, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummim, |
| 21a great people, numerous, and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed the Rephaim, so that the Ammonites dispossessed them and settled there instead. | 21a great and numerous people, tall as the Anakim. The LORD destroyed the Rephaim at the advance of the Ammonites, so that they drove them out and settled in their place. |
| 22This is what he did for the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them. So they dispossessed them and settled there in their place, where they live to this day. | 22This was just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them; they drove them out and have lived in their place until now. |
| 23It was the same for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza. The Caphtorites, who came from Crete, destroyed them and settled there in their place.) | 23The Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settled in their place." |
| 24Get ready and set out for the Wadi Arnon. Look! I've given into your control Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, along with his land. Prepare to take possession by provoking him to war. | 24The LORD also said, 'Get up, move out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have handed Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land over to you. Begin to take possession of it; engage him in battle. |
| 25Starting today I will begin to instill fear and terror of you on the part of every nation under heaven who hears reports about you. They'll tremble in anguish before you.'" | 25Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on the peoples everywhere under heaven. They will hear the report about you, tremble, and be in anguish because of you.'" |
| 26"I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with this message of peace: | 26So I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon from the Wilderness of Kedemoth, saying, |
| 27Let me pass through your territory. I'll stay on the main road. I won't turn to the right or left. | 27Let us travel through your land; we will keep strictly to the highway. We will not turn to the right or the left. |
| 28Sell me food for cash, so I can eat and give me water for cash, so I can drink. Just let me pass through on foot, | 28You can sell us food in exchange for silver so we may eat, and give us water for silver so we may drink. Only let us travel through on foot, |
| 29as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir did for me, as did the Moabites who live in Ar. I'll pass through, until I will have crossed the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is about to give us.' | 29just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir did for us, and the Moabites who live in Ar, until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.' |
| 30But King Sihon of Heshbon did not allow us to pass through, because the LORD your God had hardened his spirit and made him arrogant, in order to deliver him into your control today. | 30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us travel through his land, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to hand him over to you, as has now taken place." |
| 31"Then the LORD told me, 'See, I've begun to deliver Sihon and his territory over to you. Prepare to take possession of his land.' | 31Then the LORD said to me, 'See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land to you. Begin to take possession of it.' |
| 32"Sihon came out to meet us, including his entire army, at the battle of Jahaz. | 32So Sihon and his whole army came out against us for battle at Jahaz. |
| 33The LORD our God delivered him to us, so we attacked him, his son, and his whole army. | 33The LORD our God handed him over to us, and we defeated him, his sons, and his whole army. |
| 34We captured all his towns at that time. We utterly destroyed every town—the men, the women, and the children—leaving no survivors. | 34At that time we captured all his cities and completely destroyed the people of every city, including the women and children. We left no survivors. |
| 35We only appropriated the livestock for our use, along with plunder from the cities that we captured. | 35We took only the livestock and the spoil from the cities we captured as plunder for ourselves. |
| 36From Aroer on the edge of Arnon Valley and from the town all the way to Gilead, there was no city that was too strong for us—the LORD our God delivered them all to us. | 36There was no city that was inaccessible to us, from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead. The LORD our God gave everything to us. |
| 37You did not encroach onto Ammonite land, the banks of the Wadi Jabbok, the towns in the hill country, and all the other places that were forbidden by the LORD our God." | 37But you did not go near the Ammonites' land, all along the bank of the Jabbok River, the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD our God had forbidden." |
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