Numbers 21
1 And Arad the Chananitish king who
dwelt by the wilderness, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharin; and he
made war on Israel, and carried off
aGr. a captivity of them.some of them captives. 2 And Israel
vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If thou wilt deliver this people into my
power, I will devote it and its cities to thee.
3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice
of Israel, and delivered the Chananite into his power; and
Israel devoted him and his cities, and they called
the name of that place
bGr. devoted thing.Anathema.
4 And having departed from mount Or by
the way leading to the Red Sea, they compassed the
land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way.
5 And the people spoke against God and
against Moses, saying, Why is this? Hast thou brought us ought of Egypt to
slay us in the wilderness? for there is not bread nor water; and our soul
loathes this light bread. 6 And the
Lord sent among the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and much
people of the children of Israel died.
7 And the people came to Moses and
said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee:
pray therefore to the Lord, and let him take away the serpent from us.
8 And Moses prayed to the Lord for the
people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and put it on a
signal-staff; and it shall come to pass that whenever
a serpent shall bite a man, every one so bitten that
looks upon it shall live. 9 And Moses
made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-staff: and it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the
brazen serpent, he lived.
10 And the children of Israel
departed, and encamped in Oboth.
11 And having departed from Oboth,
they encamped in Achalgai, on the farther side in the wilderness, which is
opposite Moab, toward the east.
12 And thence they departed, and
encamped in the valley of Zared.
13 And they departed thence and
encamped on the other side of Arnon in the wilderness,
the country which extends from the coasts of the
cGr. Amorite.Amorites; for Arnon is the borders of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14 Therefore it is said in a book, A
war of the Lord has set on fire Zoob, and the brooks of Arnon.
15 And he has appointed brooks to
cause Er to dwell there; and it lies near to the
coasts of Moab.
16 And thence
they came to the well; this
is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather
the people, and I will give them water to drink.
17 Then Israel sang this song at the
well, Begin to sing
dGr. of the well for it.of the well; 18 the princes digged
it, the kings of the nations in their kingdom, in their lordship sank it in
the rock: and they went from the well to Manthanain,
19 and from Manthanain to Naaliel,
and from Naaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to
eOr, Jané, but the reading is uncertain.Janen, which is in the plain of Moab as seen from
the top of the quarried rock that looks toward the
wilderness.
20 And Moses sent ambassadors to Seon
king of the Amorites, with peaceable words, saying,
21 We will pass through thy land, we
will go by the road; we will not turn aside to the field or to the vineyard.
22 We will not drink water out of thy
well; we will go by the king's highway, until we have past thy boundaries.
23 And Seon did not allow Israel to
pass through his borders, and Seon gathered all his people, and went out to
set the battle in array against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to
Jassa, and set the battle in array against Israel.
24 And Israel smote him with the
slaughter of the sword, and they became possessors of his land, from Arnon to
Jaboc, as far as the children of Amman, for Jazer is the borders of the
children of Amman. 25 And Israel took
all their cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in
Esebon, and in all cities belonging to it.
26 For Esebon is the city of Seon
king of the Amorites; and he before fought against the king of Moab, and they
took all his land, from Aroer to Arnon.
27 Therefore say they who deal in
dark speeches, Come to Esebon, that the city of Seon may be built and
prepared. 28 For a fire has gone
forth from Esebon, a flame from the city of Seon, and has consumed as far as
Moab, and devoured the pillars of Arnon.
29 Woe to thee, Moab; thou art lost,
thou people of Chamos: their sons are sold for preservation, and their
daughters are captives to Seon king of the Amorites.
30 And their seed shall perish
from Esebon to Dæbon; and their women have yet
farther kindled a fire against Moab.
31 And Israel dwelt in all the cities
of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to
spy out Jazer; and they took it, and its villages, and cast out the Amorite
that dwelt there. 33 And having
returned, they went up the road that leads to Basan; and Og the king of Basan
went forth to meet them, and all his people to war to Edrain.
34 And the Lord said to Moses, Fear
him not; for I have delivered him and all his people, and all his land, into
thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Seon king of the
Amorites, who dwelt in Esebon. 35 And
he smote him and his sons, and all his people, until he left none of his to be
taken alive; and they inherited his land.