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Numbers 21
American Standard Version
Numbers 21
American Standard Version
21 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way [a]of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will [b]utterly destroy their cities. 3 And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they [c]utterly destroyed them and their cities: and the name of the place was called [d]Hormah.
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people [e]was much discouraged [f]because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this [g]light bread. 6 And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.
10 And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and encamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. 12 From thence they journeyed, and encamped in the valley of Zered. 13 From thence they journeyed, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that cometh out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the Wars of Jehovah,
Vaheb [h]in Suphah,
And the valleys of the Arnon,
15 And the slope of the valleys
That inclineth toward the dwelling of Ar,
And leaneth upon the border of Moab.
16 And from thence they journeyed to [i]Beer: that is the well whereof Jehovah said unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
17 Then sang Israel this song:
Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
18 The well, which the princes digged,
Which the nobles of the people delved,
[j]With the sceptre, and with their staves.
And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah; 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon [k]the desert.
21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed thy border. 23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel. 24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the [l]towns thereof. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto the Arnon. 27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,
Come ye to Heshbon;
Let the city of Sihon be built and established:
28 For a fire is gone out of Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon:
It hath devoured Ar of Moab,
The lords of [m]the high places of the Arnon.
29 Woe to thee, Moab!
Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh:
He hath given his sons as fugitives,
And his daughters into captivity,
Unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon,
And we have laid waste even unto Nophah,
Which reacheth unto Medeba.
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took the towns thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. 35 So they smote him, and his sons and all his people, until there was none left him remaining: and they possessed his land.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:1 Or, of the spies
- Numbers 21:2 Hebrew devote.
- Numbers 21:3 Hebrew devoted.
- Numbers 21:3 From the same root as herem, a devoted thing
- Numbers 21:4 Or, was impatient. Hebrew was shortened.
- Numbers 21:4 Or, in
- Numbers 21:5 Or, vile
- Numbers 21:14 Or, in storm
- Numbers 21:16 That is, A well.
- Numbers 21:18 Or, By order of the law-giver
- Numbers 21:20 Or, Jeshimon
- Numbers 21:25 Hebrew daughters.
- Numbers 21:28 Or, Bamoth
Numbers 21
New International Version
Numbers 21
New International Version
Arad Destroyed
21 When the Canaanite king of Arad,(A) who lived in the Negev,(B) heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. 2 Then Israel made this vow(C) to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy[a](D) their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites(E) over to them. They completely destroyed them(F) and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.[b](G)
The Bronze Snake
4 They traveled from Mount Hor(H) along the route to the Red Sea,[c](I) to go around Edom.(J) But the people grew impatient on the way;(K) 5 they spoke against God(L) and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt(M) to die in the wilderness?(N) There is no bread! There is no water!(O) And we detest this miserable food!”(P)
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes(Q) among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.(R) 7 The people came to Moses(S) and said, “We sinned(T) when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord(U) will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed(V) for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;(W) anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake(X) and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.(Y)
The Journey to Moab
10 The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.(Z) 11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab(AA) toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.(AB) 13 They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon(AC), which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.(AD) 14 That is why the Book of the Wars(AE) of the Lord says:
“. . . Zahab[d] in Suphah and the ravines,
the Arnon 15 and[e] the slopes of the ravines
that lead to the settlement of Ar(AF)
and lie along the border of Moab.”
16 From there they continued on to Beer,(AG) the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”
17 Then Israel sang this song:(AH)
“Spring up, O well!
Sing about it,
18 about the well that the princes dug,
that the nobles of the people sank—
the nobles with scepters and staffs.”
Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah(AI) overlooks the wasteland.
Defeat of Sihon and Og
21 Israel sent messengers(AJ) to say to Sihon(AK) king of the Amorites:(AL)
22 “Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.(AM)”
23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory.(AN) He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz,(AO) he fought with Israel.(AP) 24 Israel, however, put him to the sword(AQ) and took over his land(AR) from the Arnon to the Jabbok,(AS) but only as far as the Ammonites,(AT) because their border was fortified. 25 Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites(AU) and occupied them,(AV) including Heshbon(AW) and all its surrounding settlements. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon(AX) king of the Amorites,(AY) who had fought against the former king of Moab(AZ) and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.(BA)
27 That is why the poets say:
“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;
let Sihon’s city be restored.
28 “Fire went out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the city of Sihon.(BB)
It consumed(BC) Ar(BD) of Moab,
the citizens of Arnon’s heights.(BE)
29 Woe to you, Moab!(BF)
You are destroyed, people of Chemosh!(BG)
He has given up his sons as fugitives(BH)
and his daughters as captives(BI)
to Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 “But we have overthrown them;
Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.(BJ)
We have demolished them as far as Nophah,
which extends to Medeba.(BK)”
31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.(BL)
32 After Moses had sent spies(BM) to Jazer,(BN) the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33 Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan(BO),(BP) and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.(BQ)
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.(BR)”
35 So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors.(BS) And they took possession of his land.(BT)
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 3.
- Numbers 21:3 Hormah means destruction.
- Numbers 21:4 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Numbers 21:14 Septuagint; Hebrew Waheb
- Numbers 21:15 Or “I have been given from Suphah and the ravines / of the Arnon 15 to
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