Wanderings in the Wilderness 1 CPDV “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. BSB BSB: Then 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.
2 CPDV And the Lord said to me: BSB BSB: At this time the LORD said to me,
3 CPDV ‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north. BSB BSB: “You have been wandering around this hill country long enough; turn to the north
4 CPDV 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. BSB BSB: and 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.
5 CPDV 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. BSB BSB: Do 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.
6 CPDV You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink. BSB BSB: You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”
7 CPDV 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.’ BSB BSB: Indeed, 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.
8 CPDV 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. BSB BSB: So 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.
10 CPDV The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim. BSB BSB: (The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites.
11 CPDV They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim. BSB BSB: Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites.
12 CPDV 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. BSB BSB: The 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.)
13 CPDV Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place. BSB BSB: “Now arise and cross over the Brook of Zered.” So we crossed over the Brook of Zered.
14 CPDV 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. BSB BSB: The 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.
15 CPDV For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp. BSB BSB: Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished.
16 CPDV Then, after all the fighting men had fallen, BSB BSB: Now when all the fighting men among the people had died,
17 CPDV the Lord spoke to me, saying: BSB BSB: the LORD said to me,
18 CPDV ‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar. BSB BSB: “Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar.
20 CPDV It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim. BSB BSB: (That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
21 CPDV 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, BSB BSB: They 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,
22 CPDV 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. BSB BSB: just 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.
The Defeat of Sihon (Numbers 21:21–30)
24 CPDV ‘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. BSB BSB: “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.
25 CPDV 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.’ BSB BSB: This 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.”
26 CPDV Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying: BSB BSB: So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying,
27 CPDV ‘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. BSB BSB: “Let us pass through your land; we will stay on the main road. We will not turn to the right or to the left.
28 CPDV 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, BSB BSB: You can sell us food to eat and water to drink in exchange for silver. Only let us pass through on foot,
29 CPDV 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.’ BSB BSB: just 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.”
30 CPDV 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. BSB BSB: But 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.
31 CPDV And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’ BSB BSB: Then 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.”
32 CPDV And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz. BSB BSB: So Sihon and his whole army came out for battle against us at Jahaz.
33 CPDV And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people. BSB BSB: And the LORD our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and his whole army.
34 CPDV 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, BSB BSB: At that time we captured all his cities and devoted to destruction the people of every city, including women and children. We left no survivors.
35 CPDV except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities, BSB BSB: We carried off for ourselves only the livestock and the plunder from the cities we captured.
36 CPDV 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, BSB BSB: From 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.
37 CPDV 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.” BSB BSB: But 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.