¹Then we turned , and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Suf, as the LORD spoke to me ; and we encircled Mount Seir many days .

²The LORD spoke to me, saying,

³“You have encircled this mountain long enough . Turn northward .

⁴Command the people , saying, ‘You are to pass through the border of your brothers , the children of Esau , who dwell in Seir ; and they will be afraid of you . Therefore be careful .

⁵Don’t 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 I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession .

⁶You shall purchase food from them for money , that you may eat. You shall also buy water from them for money , that you may drink .’”

⁷For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands . He has known your walking through this great wilderness . These forty years , the LORD your God has been with you . You have lacked nothing .

⁸So we passed by from our brothers , the children of Esau , who dwell in Seir , from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab .

⁹The LORD said to me , “Don’t bother Moab , neither contend with them in battle ; for I will not give you any of his land for a possession , because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession .”

¹⁰(The Emim lived there before , a great and numerous people , and tall as the Anakim .

¹¹These also are considered to be Rephaim , as the Anakim ; but the Moabites call them Emim.

¹²The Horites also lived in Seir in the past , but the children of Esau succeeded them . They destroyed them from before them , and lived in their place , as Israel did to the land of his possession , which the LORD gave to them .)

¹³“Now rise up and cross over the brook Zered .” We went over the brook Zered .

¹⁴The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years , until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the middle of the camp , as the LORD swore to them .

¹⁵Moreover the LORD ’s hand was against them , to destroy them from the middle of the camp , until they were consumed .

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

¹⁷the LORD spoke to me , saying ,

¹⁸“You are to pass over Ar , the border of Moab , today .

¹⁹When you come near the border of the children of Ammon , don’t bother them , nor contend with them ; for I will not give you any of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession , because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession .”

²⁰(That also is considered a land of Rephaim . Rephaim lived there in the past , but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,

²¹a great people , many , and tall , as the Anakim ; but the LORD destroyed them from before Israel , and they succeeded them , and lived in their place ,

²²as he did for the children of Esau who dwell in Seir , when he destroyed the Horites from before them ; and they succeeded them , and lived in their place even to this day .

²³Then the Avvim , who lived in villages as far as Gaza : the Caphtorim , who came out of Caphtor , destroyed them and lived in their place .)

²⁴“Rise up , take your journey , and pass over the valley of the Arnon. Behold , 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 .

²⁵Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky , who shall hear the report of you , and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you .”

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

²⁷“Let me pass through your land. I will go along by the highway . I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left .

²⁸You shall sell me food for money , that I may eat; and give me water for money , that I may drink . Just let me pass through on my feet ,

²⁹as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir , and the Moabites who dwell in Ar , did to me , until I pass over the Jordan into the land which the LORD our God gives us .”

³⁰But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him , for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand , as it is today .

³¹The LORD said to me , “Behold , I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you . Begin to possess , that you may inherit his land .”

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

³³The LORD our God delivered him up before us ; and we struck him , his sons , and all his people .

³⁴We took all his cities at that time , and utterly destroyed every inhabited city , with the women and the little ones . We left no one remaining .

³⁵Only the livestock we took for plunder for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities which we had taken .

³⁶From Aroer , which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the valley , even to Gilead , there was not a city too high for us . The LORD our God delivered up all before us .

³⁷Only to the land of the children of Ammon you didn’t come near : all the banks of the river Jabbok , and the cities of the hill country , and wherever the LORD our God forbade us .