Deuteronomy 2 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Then we turned back and headed into the wilderness toward the just as had told me. We spent a long time going around the hill country of
Then Yahweh said to me,
"You've been going around this hill country long enough. Turn north.
Give the people these orders: 'You're about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the of who live in Seir. They'll be afraid of you, so be very careful.
Don't provoke them, because I'm not giving you any of their land — not even a foot's width of it. I've given the hill country of Seir to Esau as his own
You'll buy food from them with money so you can eat, and you'll also buy water from them with money so you can drink."
After all, Yahweh your God has of you in everything you've done. He's watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. For forty years now, Yahweh your God has been with you, and you haven't lacked a thing.
So we passed through the territory of our relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir. We left the road from Elath and Ezion-geber, and turned to travel along the wilderness road of
Yahweh told me, "Don't harass Moab or provoke them into war, because I'm not giving you any of their land as a possession. I've given to the descendants of as their own possession."
(The used to live there — a people as large, numerous, and tall as the
Like the Anakites, they were also considered but the Moabites called them Emites.
The also used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out, destroyed them, and settled in their place — just like Israel did in the land Yahweh gave them as their possession.)
"Now get up and cross the So we crossed the
The time from when we left until we crossed the Zered Valley was thirty-eight years — until that entire generation of fighting men had died off from the camp, just as Yahweh had would happen to them.
Yahweh's own was against them, working to eliminate them from the camp until they were all gone.
When the last of the fighting men among the people had finally died off,
Yahweh said to me,
"Today you're crossing through the territory of Moab, through Ar.
When you get close to the don't harass them or provoke them, because I'm not giving you any of the land as a possession. I've given it to the descendants of Lot as their own possession."
(That region is also considered Rephaite territory. Rephaites used to live there, but the Ammonites called them
They were a people as large, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. But Yahweh destroyed them so the Ammonites could drive them out and settle in their place.
He did the same thing for the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites so they could drive them out and settle in their place. They've been living there ever since.
As for the who lived in settlements as far as Gaza, the who came from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)
"Get moving! Cross the Look — I've handed over the king of and his land to you. Start taking possession of it and engage him in battle.
Starting today, I'm going to put the and fear of you on every nation under the sky. When they hear reports about you, they'll tremble and be in anguish because of you."
So I sent messengers from the Kedemoth wilderness to Sihon king of Heshbon with an offer of saying,
"Let me pass through your land. I'll stay on the main road and won't turn to the right or left.
Sell me food for money so I can eat, and give me water for money so I can drink. Just let me pass through on foot—
the same way the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar let me do — until I cross the into the land that Yahweh our God is giving us."
But Sihon king of Heshbon wouldn't let us pass through. Yahweh your God had and defiant, in order to hand him over to you — which is exactly what's happened today.
Yahweh said to me, "Look, I've begun to hand Sihon and his land over to you. Start taking possession of his land."
When Sihon marched out against us with his entire army to fight at
Yahweh our God handed him over to us, and we struck down him, his sons, and his entire army.
We captured all his cities at that time and every city — men, women, and children. We left no survivors.
We only took the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with the spoils from the cities we had captured.
From on the rim of the Arnon Valley, including the city in the valley itself, all the way to — there wasn't a single city too fortified for us. Yahweh our God gave them all to us.
But you didn't go near the land of the Ammonites — nowhere along the nowhere near the cities in the hill country, and nowhere that Yahweh our God had told us to avoid.