Numbers 21:12–35

¹²From there they went and camped at Zered Valley. ¹³They set out from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness that extends from the Amorite border, because the Arnon was the Moabite border between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Lord’s Wars:

Waheb ^xin Suphah

and the ravines of the Arnon,

¹⁵even the slopes of the ravines

that extend to the site of Ar ^yz

and lie along the border of Moab.

¹⁶From there they went to Beer, ^athe well the Lord told Moses about, “Gather the people so I may give them water.” ¹⁷Then Israel sang this song:

Spring up, well—sing to it!

¹⁸The princes dug the well;

the nobles of the people hollowed it out

with a scepter and with their staffs.

They went from the wilderness to Mattanah, ¹⁹from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰from Bamoth to the valley in the territory of Moab near the Pisgah highlands ^bcthat overlook the wasteland. ^de

Amorite Kings Defeated

²¹Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon ^fking of the Amorites: ²²“Let us travel through your land. We won’t go into the fields or vineyards. We won’t drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway until we have traveled through your territory.” ^g23But Sihon would not let Israel travel through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, ^hhe fought against Israel. ²⁴Israel struck him with the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, ⁱbut only up to the Ammonite border, because it was fortified. ^jk

²⁵Israel took all the cities and lived in all these Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its villages. ²⁶Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken control of all his land as far as the Arnon. ²⁷Therefore the poets ^lsay:

Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt;

let the city of Sihon be restored. ^m

²⁸For fire came out of Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon.

It consumed Ar of Moab,

the lords of ⁿArnon’s heights.

²⁹Woe to you, Moab!

You have been destroyed, people of Chemosh! ^o

He gave up his sons as refugees,

and his daughters into captivity

to Sihon the Amorite king.

³⁰We threw them down;

Heshbon has been destroyed as far as Dibon. ^pq

We caused desolation as far as Nophah,

which reaches as far as Medeba. ^rs

³¹So Israel lived in the Amorites’ land. ³²After Moses sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

³³Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan ^tcame out against them with his whole army to do battle at Edrei. ^u34But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” ^v35So they struck him, his sons, and his whole army until no one was left, ^wand they took possession of his land. ^x