3
Moses Reminds Israel of How They Defeated King Og of Bashan
1 Next we turned and followed the road that goes to Bashan. King Og of Bashan and all his troops came to fight us at Edrei. 2 The Lord said to me, “Don’t be afraid of him. I’ll hand him, all his troops, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.”
3 So the Lord our God also handed King Og of Bashan and all his troops over to us. We defeated him, leaving no survivors. 4 At that time we captured all of his cities. There wasn’t a city we didn’t take. We captured a total of 60 cities—the whole territory of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All of these cities were fortified with high walls and double-door gates with bars across the gates. We also captured a large number of unwalled villages. 6 We claimed them all for God, destroying every city, including men, women, and children—as we did to King Sihon of Heshbon. 7 However, we did loot the cities, taking all of the cattle and goods.
8 We took the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon. 9 (The Sidonians call Mount Hermon by the name Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We took all of the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Of the Rephaim only King Og of Bashan was left. His bed was made of iron and was more than 13 feet long and 6 feet wide. It is still in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)
12 At that time we took possession of this land. I gave the tribes of Reuben and Gad the land north of Aroer near the Arnon Valley and half of the mountain region of Gilead with its cities. 13 I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan ruled by Og to half of the tribe of Manasseh. (The whole territory of Argob in Bashan used to be called the land of the Rephaim. 14 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole territory of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites. The settlements in Bashan he named Havvoth Jair after himself. This is still their name today.) 15 I gave Gilead to Machir. 16 I gave the tribes of Reuben and Gad some of Gilead from the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley is the border) to the Jabbok River, which is the border of Ammon. 17 Their land included the plains around the Jordan River. The western border was the river, from the Sea of Galilee to the Sea of the Plains (the Dead Sea), which is near Mount Pisgah on the east.
18 I gave the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh this command: “The Lord your God has given you this land so that you can take possession of it. All your soldiers must be ready for battle when they cross ⌞the Jordan River⌟ ahead of the other Israelites. 19 I know you have a lot of livestock. Your wives, children, and livestock must stay here in the cities that I gave you. 20 Your soldiers will go with the other Israelites until they take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then they will have a place to rest as you have. After that each of you may go back to the land I gave you.”
21 I also gave Joshua this command: “You have seen with your own eyes everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all of the kingdoms on the other side ⌞of the Jordan River⌟ where you’re going. 22 Don’t be afraid of them, because the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”
Moses Reminds Israel Why He Will Not Enter Canaan
23 Then I pleaded with the Lord: 24 “Almighty Lord, you have ⌞only⌟ begun to show me how great and powerful you are. What kind of god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and the mighty acts you have done? 25 Please let me go over and see the beautiful land on the other side of the Jordan River—those beautiful mountains in Lebanon.”
26 The Lord was angry with me because of you, so he wouldn’t listen to me. He said, “That’s enough out of you! Don’t talk to me anymore about this. 27 Go to the top of Mount Pisgah, and look west, north, south, and east. You may look at the land, but you will never cross the Jordan River. 28 Give instructions to Joshua. Encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people across ⌞the Jordan River⌟, and he will help them take possession of the land you see.”
29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.