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1 And we turned, and journeyed to the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Suph, as the Lord had told us; and we encompassed the mountain of Seir many days. 2 And the Lord spake to me, saying: 3 You have been about this mountain enough for you: turn you northward; 4 And command the people, saying: You are going through the coasts of your brethren, the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Take great heed, 5 quarrel not with them; for I will not give you of their land, not so much as you may tread upon with the sole of the foot; for the inheritance of Mount Seir I have given to Esau. 6 You shall buy provision of them with silver, that you may eat; and water, with silver, that you may drink; 7 For the Lord thy God bath blessed thee in all the works of thy hands; He bath given thee sufficient for thy need in thy going about in this great wilderness; these forty years the Word of the Lord thy God hath been thy helper, thou hast not wanted anything.
8 And we passed by from our brethren, the sons of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-Geber; and turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the Lord said to me, Distress not the Moabaee, nor stir thyself to make war with them; for I will not give thee any of their land to inherit, for I have given Lechiath unto the children of Lot for an inheritance. 10 The Emethanee in old times dwelt in it; a people great and many, and strong as the giants. 11 They were reputed as giants, and like giants also they were; but the Moabites called them Emethanee. 12 And in Seir dwelt the Horaee in former times; but the sons of Esau drave them out, and destroyed them, and dwelt in their places, as Israel did in the land of his inheritance which the Lord gave to them. 13 Now arise, (said I,) and go over the stream of Zared. And we passed over the stream of Zared. 14 And the days in which we were journeying from Rekem Giah until we crossed the stream of Zared were thirty and eight years, till all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 For the plague stroke from before the Lord was upon them to destroy them from among the host till they were consumed.
16 When all the men of war had been consumed, and had died away from among the people, 17 the Lord spake with me, saying: 18 Thou art today to pass by Lechaiath, the frontier of Moab. 19 But when thou comest nigh over against the Beni Ammon, be not troublesome to them, nor provoke thyself to make war with them; for I have not given to thee of the land of the Beni Ammon any inheritance; for I have given it to the children of Lot to inherit. 20 That also was reputed a land of giants; in old times giants did dwell in it, and the Ammonites called them Hashbanee; 21 A people great and many, and strong as giants, but the Lord destroyed them before them and cast them out, and they dwelt in their places. 22 As did the sons of Esau who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Horaee from before them, and drave them out, and they have dwelt in their places unto this day. 23 And the Avaee, who dwelt in Pheziach unto Hazah destroyed the Kaphutkaee, who came out of Kaphutkaia, and dwelt in their place. 24 Arise, remove, and pass over the river of Arnon: behold, I have delivered into thy hand Sihon, king of Heshbon, the Amorite, and his land; begin to cast him out, and rouse thyself to make battle with him. 25 This day will I begin to put dread of thee and fear of thee upon the face of the peoples which are under the whole heavens, who shall hear thy fame, and be broken before thee.
26 And I sent ambassadors from the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27 May I pass through thy land by the way? I will go by the way, nor turn to the right or the left: 28 Thou shalt sell me provision for silver, and I will eat; and give me water for silver, and I will drink; I will only go through on my feet: 29 As the Beni Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabaee who dwell in Lechaiath, did to me, until I pass over Jordan to the land which the Lord our God shall give to us. 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing to permit us to pass through his coasts; for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit and strengthened his heart, that He might deliver him into thy hand, as at this day. 31 And the Lord said to me, See, I have begun to deliver to thee Sihon and his country; begin thou to drive him out, that thou mayest inherit his land. 32 And Sihon came forth to meet us, he and all his people, to give battle at Jahaz; 33 And the Word of the Lord our God delivered him up before us, and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. 34 And we subdued all his cities at that time, and consumed all the towns, and the men, women, and children, and left none to escape. 35 Only the cattle was a booty to us, and the spoil of the cities which we subdued. 36 From Aroer which is upon the bank of the river of Arnon, and the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was no city too strong for us; for the Lord our God delivered all before us. 37 Only to the land of the Beni Ammon thou didst not come near, nor to all the side of the river Jubeka, nor the cities of the mountain, nor to any of which the Lord our God had commanded us.