1And we turned and journeyed to the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Reeds, as YHWH had spoken to me; and we went around Mount Seir many days.
2And YHWH said to me, saying,
3"Enough for you to go around this mountain; turn for yourselves northward.
4And command (tzivvah) the people, saying, 'You are passing through the border of your brothers the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. So take very good heed for yourselves.
5Do not contend with them, for I will not give you of their land, not even the tread of the sole of a foot; for I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
6Food you shall buy from them with silver, that you may eat; and also water you shall purchase from them with silver, that you may drink.
7For YHWH your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He has known your walking through this great wilderness. These forty years YHWH your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.'
8And we passed by from our brothers the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir, by the way of the Arabah, from Elath and from Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
9And YHWH said to me, "Do not distress Moab, and do not contend with them in battle, for I will not give you of his land as a possession, because to the sons of Lot I have given Ar as a possession.
10The Emim dwelt in it formerly, a people great and many and tall, like the Anakim.
11They also are reckoned Rephaim, like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim.
12And in Seir dwelt the Horites formerly, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them, and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead, as Israel did to the land of his possession which YHWH gave to them.
13Now rise up and cross over for yourselves the valley of Zered." And we crossed over the valley of Zered.
14And the days in which we walked from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the valley of Zered were thirty-eight years, until all the generation, the men (ish) of war, were finished from the midst of the camp, as YHWH had sworn to them.
15And moreover the hand of YHWH was against them, to confound them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed.
16And it came to pass, when all the men (ish) of war were finished, dying from the midst of the people,
17that YHWH spoke to me, saying,
18"You are passing this day the border of Moab, Ar.
19And you shall come near opposite the sons of Ammon; do not distress them, and do not contend with them, for I will not give you of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because to the sons of Lot I have given it as a possession.
20It also is reckoned a land of Rephaim; Rephaim dwelt in it formerly, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
21a people great and many and tall, like the Anakim; but YHWH destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their stead,
22as He did for the sons of Esau who dwell in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their stead, even to this day.
23And the Avvim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came forth from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their stead.
24Rise up, journey, and cross over the valley of Arnon. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
25This day I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the faces of the peoples under all the heavens, who will hear the report of you and will tremble and be in anguish before you."
26And I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
27"Let me pass through your land; on the way, on the way I will go; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left.
28Food you shall sell me for silver, that I may eat, and water you shall give me for silver, that I may drink; only let me pass through on my feet,
29as the sons of Esau who dwell in Seir did for me, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which YHWH our God is giving to us."
30But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing to let us pass by him, for YHWH your God hardened his spirit (ruach) and made his heart obstinate, in order to give him into your hand, as this day.
31And YHWH said to me, "See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before you. Begin to possess, to take possession of his land."
32And Sihon came out to meet us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz.
33And YHWH our God gave him before us, and we struck him and his sons and all his people.
34And we captured all his cities at that time, and we devoted to destruction every city, the men and the women and the little ones; we left no survivor.
35Only the beasts we took as plunder for ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we had captured.
36From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, and the city that is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was not a town that was too high for us; YHWH our God gave all before us.
37Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not come near, all the side of the valley of Jabbok, and the cities of the mountain, and all that YHWH our God commanded (tzivvah).