THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

 

Numbers Chapter 21

1 ¶ And when king Arad the Canaanite, who dwelt in the south, heard that Israel was approaching by way of the route the spies had followed; he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.

2 And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, If you will indeed deliver these people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

3 And the LORD heard Israel’s request, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

4 ¶ And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red sea, to go around the land of Edom: and the heart of the people was discouraged because of the route.

5 And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread.

6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.

7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

8 And the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one who is bitten, shall live, when he looks upon it.

9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it on a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of brass, he lived.

10 ¶ And the children of Israel moved on, and pitched camp in Oboth.

11 And they journeyed on from Oboth, and pitched camp at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrise.

12 From there they moved, and pitched camp in the valley of Zared.

13 From there they moved, and pitched camp on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the desert that extends from the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

14 This is mentioned in the book of the wars of the LORD, where it says, Waheb in Suphah, and in the brooks of Arnon,

15 And at the slope of the valleys that go down to the dwelling of Ar, and lies on the border of Moab.

16 And from there they went to Beer: that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

17 Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing to it:

18 The princes dug the well, which the nobles of the people hallowed, with the scepter, and with their staves. And from the desert they proceeded on through Mattanah:

19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:

20 And from Bamoth to the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks down on Jeshimon.

21 ¶ And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

22 Let me pass through your land: we will not turn aside into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink the water of the wells: but we will go by the king’s highway, until we are past your borders.

23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory: instead Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the desert: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

24 And Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.

26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, to the river Arnon.

27 That is why those who speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

28 For a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it has consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the heights of Arnon.

29 Woe to you, Moab! you are undone, O people of Chemosh: Moab has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

30 We have shot them down; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon, and we have laid them waste as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.

31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took its villages, and drove out the Amorites that were there.

33 Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.

34 But the LORD said to Moses, Do not be afraid of him: for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.

35 So they slew him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was not one left alive: and they possessed his land.