Daily Bread

Wanderings in the Wilderness

2 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,^[a](A) as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.^(B)

² Then the Lord said to me, ³ “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;^(C) now turn north. ⁴ Give the people these orders:^(D) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau,^(E) who live in Seir.^(F) They will be afraid^(G) of you, but be very careful. ⁵ Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.^{(H) 6} You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

⁷ The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched^(I) over your journey through this vast wilderness.^(J) These forty years^(K) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.^(L)

⁸ So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from^(M) the Arabah^(N) road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber,^(O) and traveled along the desert road of Moab.^(P)

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar^(Q) to the descendants of Lot^(R) as a possession.”

¹⁰ (The Emites^(S) used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.^{(T) 11} Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites,^(U) but the Moabites called them Emites. ¹² Horites^(V) 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^(W) in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

¹³ And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.^(X)” So we crossed the valley.

¹⁴ Thirty-eight years^(Y) passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea^(Z) until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation^(AA) of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.^{(AB) 15} The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated^(AC) them from the camp.

¹⁶ Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, ¹⁷ the Lord said to me, ¹⁸ “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.^{(AD) 19} When you come to the Ammonites,^(AE) do not harass them or provoke them to war,^(AF) for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.^(AG)”

²⁰ (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites,^(AH) who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. ²¹ They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.^(AI) The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. ²² The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir,^(AJ) when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. ²³ And as for the Avvites^(AK) who lived in villages as far as Gaza,^(AL) the Caphtorites^(AM) coming out from Caphtor^[b](AN) destroyed them and settled in their place.)

Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

²⁴ “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge.^(AO) See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite,^(AP) king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage^(AQ) him in battle. ²⁵ This very day I will begin to put the terror^(AR) and fear^(AS) of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble^(AT) and be in anguish because of you.”