King James Version

1 And we turned and set out toward the wilderness along the way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we encircled the mountain of Seir for many days. 2 And the Lord said to me to say. 3 Many of you surround this mountain; turn northward. 4 And you shall command the people, saying, “You are passing through the border of your brothers, the sons of Esau who live in Seir, and they will fear you, and you shall be very careful.” 5 Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footstep, for I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You shall buy food with money, and you shall eat; and also water you shall buy with money, and you shall drink. 7 For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands; He knows your walking through this great wilderness; for forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing. 8 And we will pass by our brothers, the sons of Esau who dwell in Seir, from the way of the wilderness, from Elath and from Ezion Geber, and we will turn and pass by the road of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the LORD said to me, "Do not harass Moab and do not contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot as a possession." 10 The mothers sat before her; a great and numerous people, like giants. 11 The healers will also be counted as giants, and the inhabitants of Moab will call them mothers. 12 In Seir the Horites dwelt before them, and the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and they dwelt in their place, as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lord gave to them. 13 Now rise up and cross over to your border the Wadi Zared, and we will pass over the Wadi Zared. 14 And the days that we went from Kadesh Barnea until we passed over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war had perished from the midst of the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 And the hand of the LORD was against them to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they were consumed. 16 And it came to pass that when all the men of war had died from among the people. 17 And the LORD spoke to me, saying. 18 You are crossing today the border of Moab, to Ar. 19 And you shall not approach the children of Ammon; do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the children of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession. 20 The land of Rephaim will also be considered; indeed, Rephaim dwelt there before, and the Ammonites will call them Zamzumim. 21 A great and numerous people, like giants, and the LORD destroyed them before them, and they inherited them, and they dwelt in their place. 22 As he did to the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them, and they inherited them and settled in their place until this day. 23 And the inhabitants who dwell in the courtyards as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim who come out from Caphtor, destroyed them, and they dwelt in their place. 24 Rise up, go and cross over the Arnon River; see, I have given into your hand Sihon the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, and his land. Begin to engage in battle against him. 25 This day I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the nations under all the heavens, who shall hear your report and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you. 26 And I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying. 27 I will pass through your land along the way; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 28 "Food with money you will give me and I will eat, and water with money you will give me and I will drink; only let me pass through on foot." 29 As the sons of Esau have done to me, the inhabitants of Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the LORD our God is giving us. 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon was unwilling to let us pass through, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, so that he might be delivered into your hand, as it is this day. 31 And the LORD said to me, "See, I have begun to give before you Sihon and his land; begin to take possession of his land." 32 And Sihon came out toward us, he and all his people, for battle. 33 And the Lord our God will give us before us, and we will strike him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we captured all the cities at that time and we utterly destroyed every city, men and women and children, we left no survivor. 35 Only the livestock we plundered for ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we captured. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and the city that is in the valley, and up to Gilead, there was not a city that was too strong for us; all of it the Lord our God gave into our hands. 37 But to the land of the children of Ammon you did not come near, any hand of the river Jabbok and the cities of the mountain and all that the LORD our God commanded.