1Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

2And the LORD spake unto me, saying,

3Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

4And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

5Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

6Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

7For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

8And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land fora possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.

10The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

11Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

12The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.

13Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.

14And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.

15For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

16So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17That the LORD spake unto me, saying,

18Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

20(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

21A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

22As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

23And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

24Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

25This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

26And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

27Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.

28Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;

29(As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.

30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

31And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

35Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:

37Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, norunto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.

Then we turned, and tooke our iourney into the wildernesse, by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake vnto mee: and wee compassed mount Seir many dayes.

2And the Lord spake vnto me, saying,

3Yee haue compassed this mountaine long enough: turne you Northward.

4And commaund thou the people, saying, Ye are to passe through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed vnto your selues therefore.

5Meddle not with them, for I will not giue you of their land, no not so much as a foote breadth, because I haue giuen mount Seir vnto Esau for a possession.

6Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat, and yee shall also buy water of them for money, that yee may drinke.

7For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee, in all the workes of thy hand: hee knoweth thy walking thorow this great wildernesse: these fourtie yeres the Lord thy God hath bene with thee, thou hast lacked nothing.

8And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, thorow the way of the plaine from Elath, and from Ezion-Gaber, wee turned and passed by the way of the wildernesse of Moab.

9And the Lord said vnto mee, Distresse not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battell: for I wil not giue thee of their land for a possession, because I haue giuen Ar vnto the children of Lot for a possession.

10The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims:

11Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims, but the Moabites call them Emims.

12The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime, but the children of Esau succeeded them when they had destroyed them from before them, & dwelt in their stead, as Israel did vnto the land of his possession, which the Lord gaue vnto them.

13Now rise vp, said I, and get you ouer the brooke Zered: and we went ouer the brooke Zered.

14And the space in which we came from Kadesh Barnea, vntill we were come ouer the brooke Zered, was thirtie and eight yeeres; vntill all the generation of the men of warre were wasted out from among the hoste, as the Lord sware vnto them.

15For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the hoste, vntill they were consumed.

16¶ So it came to passe, when all the men of warre were consumed and dead from among the people,

17That the Lord spake vnto me, saying,

18Thou art to passe ouer thorow Ar, the coast of Moab, this day.

19And when thou commest nigh ouer against the children of Ammon, distresse them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not giue thee of the lande of the children of Ammon any possession, because I haue giuen it vnto the children of Lot for a possession:

20(That also was accounted a land of Giants: giants dwelt therein in old time, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims.

21A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims: but the Lord destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them & dwelt in their stead:)

22As he did to the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them, and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead euen vnto this day.

23And the Auims which dwelt in Hazerim, euen vnto Azzah, the Caphtorims which came foorth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.

24¶ Rise ye vp, take your iourney, and passe ouer the riuer Arnon: Behold, I haue giuen into thy hand Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possesse it, and contend with him in battell.

25This day will I begin to put the dread of thee, and the feare of thee vpon the nations, that are vnder the whole heauen, who shall heare report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

26¶ And I sent messengers out of the wildernesse of Kedemoth, vnto Sihon king of Heshbon, with wordes of peace, saying,

27Let me passe through thy land: I will goe along by the high way, I will neither turne vnto the right hand, nor to the left.

28Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eate, and giue me water for money that I may drinke: Only I will passe through on my feet:

29As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did vnto me, vntill I shall passe ouer Iordan, into the land which the Lord our God giueth vs.

30But Sihon King of Heshbon would not let vs passe by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that hee might deliuer him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

31And the Lord said vnto mee, Behold, I haue begun to giue Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possesse, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32Then Sihon came out against vs, he & all his people to fight at Iahaz.

33And the Lord our God deliuered him before vs, and wee smote him, and his sonnes, and all his people.

34And we tooke all his cities at that time, and vtterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the litle ones of euery citie, we left none to remaine:

35Onely the cattell wee tooke for a pray vnto our selues, and the spoyle of the cities, which we tooke:

36From Aroer, which is by the brinke of the riuer of Arnon, and from the citie that is by the riuer euen vnto Gilead, there was not one citie too strong for vs: the Lord our God deliuered all vnto vs.

37Onely vnto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor vnto any place of the riuer Iabbok, nor vnto the cities in the mountaines, nor vnto whatsoeuer the Lord our God forbade vs.

I == Num 14:25 ; Deut 1:40

 

 

 

 

III == Deut 2:7 , 14

IV == Num 20:14

 

 

 

 

V == Gen 36:8 ; Josh 24:4

 

 

 

 

 

VII == Deut 8:2-4

 

 

 

 

VIII == Judg 11:18 ; 1st Kings 9:26

 

 

IX == Gen 19:36-37 ; Num 21:28

 

 

 

 

X == Gen 14:5 ; Num 13:22 , 33 ; Deut 9:2

 

 

 

XII == Gen 14:6 ; 36:20 ; Deut 2:22

 

 

 

XIII == Num 21:12

 

 

XIV == Num 13:26 ; 14:25 , 33 ; 26:64 ; Deut 1:34-35 ; Ezek 20:15

 

XV == Ps 78:33 ; 106:26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIX == Gen 19:38

 

 

 

 

XX == Gen 14:5

 

 

 

XXI == Deut 2:10

 

 

XXII == Gen 14:6 ; 36:8 , 20-30 ; Deut 2:12

 

 

XXIII == Gen 10:14 ; Josh 13:3 ; Jer 25:20 ; Amos 9:7

 

XXIV == Num 21:13-14 ; Judg 11:18 , 21

 

 

XXV == Ex 15:14-15 ; Deut 11:25 ; Josh 2:9-10

 

 

 

XXVI == Deut 20:10

 

XXVII == Num 21:21-22; Judg 11:19

 

XXVIII == Num 20:19

 

 

XXIX == Num 20:18 ; Deut 23:3-4 ; Judg 11:17-18

 

XXX == Ex 4:21 ; Num 21:23 ; Josh 11:20

 

 

XXXI == Deut 1:8

 

 

XXXII == Num 21:23

XXXIII == Num 21:24 ; Deut 7:2 ; 20:7 , 18

 

XXXIV == Lev 27:28 ; Deut 7:2 , 26

 

 

 

 

XXXVI == Deut 3:12 ; 4:48 ; Josh 13:9 ; Ps 44:3

 

 

XXXVII == Gen 32:22 ; Num 21:24 ; Deut 2:5 , 9 , 19 ; 3:16

 

1 "When we did turn and proceed into the desert on the Red Sea road, as the LORD had commanded me, we circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time.

2 Finally the LORD said to me,

3 'You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north.

4 Give this order to the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful

5 not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.

6 You shall purchase from them with silver the food you eat and the well water you drink.

7 The LORD, your God, has blessed you in all your undertakings; he has been concerned about your journey through this vast desert. It is now forty years that he has been with you, and you have never been in want.'

8 "Then we left behind us the Arabah route, Elath, Ezion-geber, and Seir, where our kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, live; and we went on toward the desert of Moab.

9 And the LORD said to me, 'Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their own.

10 (Formerly the Emim lived there, a people strong and numerous and tall like the Anakim;

11 like them they were considered Rephaim. It was the Moabites who called them Emim.

12 In Seir, however, the former inhabitants were the Horites; the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, clearing them out of the way and taking their place, just as the Israelites have done in the land of their heritage which the LORD has given them.)

13 Get ready, then, to cross the Wadi Zered.' So we crossed it.

14 Thirty-eight years had elapsed between our departure from Kadesh-barnea and that crossing; in the meantime the whole generation of soldiers had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn they should.

15 For it was the LORD'S hand that was against them, till he wiped them out of the camp completely.

16 "When at length death had put an end to all the soldiers among the people,

17 the LORD said to me,

18 'You are now about to leave Ar and the territory of Moab behind.

19 As you come opposite the Ammonites, do not show hostility or come in conflict with them, for I will not give you possession of any land of the Ammonites, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their own.

20 (This also was considered a country of the Rephaim from its former inhabitants, whom the Ammonites called Zamzummim,

21 a people strong and numerous and tall like the Anakim. But these, too, the LORD cleared out of the way for the Ammonites, who ousted them and took their place.

22 He had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who dwell in Seir, by clearing the Horites out of their way, so that the descendants of Esau have taken their place down to the present.

23 So also the Caphtorim, migrating from Caphtor, cleared away the Avvim, who once dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, and took their place.)

24 "'Advance now across the Wadi Arnon. I now deliver into your hands Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin the occupation; engage him in battle.

25 This day I will begin to put a fear and dread of you into every nation under the heavens, so that at the mention of your name they will quake and tremble before you.'

26 "So I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace:

27 'Let me pass through your country by the highway; I will go along it without turning aside to the right or to the left.

28 For the food I eat which you will supply, and for the water you give me to drink, you shall be paid in silver. Only let me march through,

29 as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar have done, until I cross the Jordan into the land which the LORD, our God, is about to give us.'

30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through his land, because the LORD, your God, made him stubborn in mind and obstinate in heart that he might deliver him up to you, as indeed he has now done.

31 "Then the LORD said to me, 'Now that I have already begun to hand over to you Sihon and his land, begin the actual occupation.'

32 So Sihon and all his people advanced against us to join battle at Jahaz;

33 but since the LORD, our God, had delivered him to us, we defeated him and his sons and all his people.

34 At that time we seized all his cities and doomed them all, with their men, women and children; we left no survivor.

35 Our only booty was the livestock and the loot of the captured cities.

36 From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and from the city in the wadi itself, as far as Gilead, no city was too well fortified for us to whom the LORD had delivered them up.

37 However, in obedience to the command of the LORD, our God, you did not encroach upon any of the Ammonite land, neither the region bordering on the Wadi Jabbok, nor the cities of the highlands.

v 1-15. Moses continues his review of how they gradually went clear back to the Gulf of Aqaba till the Lord finally told them to head back north. The people had been warned not to bother the Edomites in the smallest way, but they could buy supplies from them. They had been given the same command to not harm Moab in any way. (Giants had dwelled in that land in times past.) Now, 38 years after their rebellion at Kedesh, all the Exodus generation have died and the Lord tells them to cross the brook Zered in preparation to make the final moves before entering the land. 

v 16-23. Now they were commanded to go via of Moab and the Ammonites and not do them any harm. As children of Esau had destroyed the giants of v 10,11, the children of Lot had destroyed giants here.
v 24,25. Then they were commanded to journey on and engage in battle because the Lord would put put fear in the hearts of their enemies.

v 26-37. Moses had given Sihon the option of peace if he would just let them pass through and sell food to them as the Edomites had. However the Lord hardened the heart of the king of Sihon, so he came out to do battle. The Israelites took all  their cities, killing all men, women and children. Israel took the cattle as spoils as well as the spoils in the cities, but did not harm the Ammonites or any thing the Lord said not to.