1Then we turned and traveled into the wilderness by the route to the Red Sea, as Yahweh had told me. We journeyed around Mount Seir for many days.
2Yahweh said to me,
3“You have circled this mountain long enough. Head north.
4Tell the people, ‘You are about to pass through the land of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful.
5Do not fight with them, because I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to set your foot on. I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his property.
6You must buy food from them with money so you can eat, and also buy water from them with money so you can drink.’”
7For Yahweh your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. For these forty years, Yahweh your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
8So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, taking the road through the Arabah, from Elath and Ezion Geber. Then we turned and traveled along the road through the wilderness of Moab.
9Yahweh said to me, “Do not trouble Moab or fight them, because I will not give you any of their land as property. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their property.”
10(In the past, the Emim lived there, a great, numerous, and tall people, like the Anakim.
11They were also considered Rephaim, like the Anakim, but the Moabites called them Emim.
12The Horites also lived in Seir previously, but the descendants of Esau drove them out, destroyed them, and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land Yahweh gave them as their own.)
13“Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.” So we crossed the Zered Valley.
14The time from when we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley was thirty-eight years. By then, all the generation of fighting men had died off from the camp, just as Yahweh had sworn to them.
15Indeed, Yahweh’s hand was against them to eliminate them from the camp until they were all gone.
16So, when all the fighting men had died off from among the people,
17Yahweh said to me,
18“Today you are to cross over Ar, which is the border of Moab.
19When you approach the territory of the Ammonites, do not trouble them or fight with them, because I will not give you any of the Ammonites’ land as your property. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their property.”
20(That land also was considered a land of Rephaim; Rephaim lived there in the past, but the Ammonites called them Zamzummim,
21a great, numerous, and tall people, like the Anakim. But Yahweh destroyed them before the Ammonites, and the Ammonites drove them out and settled in their place,
22just as he did for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them, and they drove them out and settled in their place, where they remain to this day.
23And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor and settled in their place.)
24“Get up, begin your journey, and cross the Arnon Valley. Look, I have given Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon and his land into your control. Begin to take possession of it, and fight him in battle.
25Today I will begin to instill dread and fear of you in all the peoples under the whole sky. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble and be in anguish because of you.”
26From the wilderness of Kedemoth, I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon with a message of peace, saying,
27"Please let me pass through your land. I will stay on the main road and not turn off to the right or left."
28"You can sell me food so I can eat, and give me water in exchange for money so I can drink. Just let me walk through your land,"
29"just as the descendants of Esau in Seir and the Moabites in Ar allowed me to do. I will continue until I cross the Jordan River into the land Yahweh our God is giving us."
30But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us pass through his territory. This was because Yahweh your God made him stubborn and obstinate, so that Yahweh could hand him over to you, as he has done today.
31Yahweh said to me, "Look, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Start taking possession of it, so you can inherit his land."
32Then Sihon and all his people came out to fight us at Jahaz.
33Yahweh our God handed him over to us, and we defeated him, his sons, and all his people.
34At that time, we captured all his cities and completely destroyed every city, including the women and children. We left no one alive.
35The only things we kept for ourselves were the livestock and the valuables from the cities we had captured.
36From Aroer, located on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and the city in that valley, all the way to Gilead, no city was too strong for us. Yahweh our God handed everything over to us.
37However, you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, nor any part of the Jabbok River, nor the cities in the hill country, nor any place that Yahweh our God had forbidden us to enter.