The Wilderness Years
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"Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, 1as the LORD told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir.
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Then the LORD said to me,
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'You have been traveling around this mountain country 2long enough. Turn northward
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and command the people, "You are about to pass through the territory of 3your brothers, the people of Esau, 4who live in Seir; and 5they will be afraid of you. So be very careful.
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Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because 6I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
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7You shall purchase food from them for money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water of them for money, that you may drink.
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For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. 8He knows your going through this great wilderness. 9These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing."'
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So 10we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from 11the Arabah road from 12Elath and 13Ezion-geber. "And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab.
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And the LORD said to me, 14'Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given 15Ar to 16the people of Lot for a possession.'
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Like the Anakim they are also counted as 20Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
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21The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, 22as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the LORD gave to them.)
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And the time from our leaving 25Kadesh-barnea until we crossed 26the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, 27until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.
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For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.
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"So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people,
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the LORD said to me,
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'Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar.
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And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, 28do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to 29the sons of Lot for a possession.'
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(It is also counted as a land of 30Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there--but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim--
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31a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before the Ammonites,a and they dispossessed them and settled in their place,
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as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed 32the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day.
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As for 33the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as 34Gaza, 35the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)
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'Rise up, set out on your journey and 36go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of 37Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and 38contend with him in battle.
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This day I will begin to put 39the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.'
The Defeat of King Sihon
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"So I sent messengers from the wilderness of 40Kedemoth to Sihon the king of 41Heshbon, 42with words of peace, saying,
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43'Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left.
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44You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot,
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45as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving to us.'
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But 46Sihon the king of 47Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God 48hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day.
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And the LORD said to me, 'Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.'
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Then 49Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz.
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And 50the LORD our God gave him over to us, and 51we defeated him and his sons and all his people.
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And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destructionb every 52city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors.
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Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured.
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53From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from 54the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. 55The LORD our God gave all into our hands.
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Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river 56Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the LORD our God had forbidden us.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)