^21:26For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. Now he had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all of his land from his control,⁴¹ as far as the Arnon. ^21:27That is why those who speak in proverbs⁴² say,

“Come to Heshbon, let it be built.

Let the city of Sihon be established!⁴³

^21:28For fire went out from Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon.

It has consumed Ar of Moab

and the lords⁴⁴ of the high places of Arnon.

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Footnotes

41 There is a justice, always, in the divine plan for the conquest of the land. Modern students of the Bible often think that the conquest passages are crude and unjust. But an understanding of the ancient Near East is critical here. This Sihon was not a part of the original population of the land. He himself invaded the territory and destroyed the population of Moab that was indigenous there and established his own kingdom. The ancient history is filled with such events; it is the way of life they chose—conquer or be conquered. For Israel to defeat them was in part a turning of their own devices back on their heads—“those that live by the sword will die by the sword.” Sihon knew this, and he did not wait, but took the war to Israel. Israel wanted to pass through, not fight. But now they would either fight or be pushed into the gorge. So God used Israel to defeat Sihon, who had no claim to the land, as part of divine judgment.
42 Proverbs of antiquity could include pithy sayings or longer songs, riddles, or poems composed to catch the significance or the irony of an event. This is a brief poem to remember the event, like an Egyptian victory song. It may have originated as an Amorite war taunt song; it was sung to commemorate this victory. It was cited later by Jeremiah (48:45–46). The composer invites his victorious people to rebuild the conquered city as a new capital for Sihon. He then turns to address the other cities which his God(s) has/have given to him. See P. D. Hanson, “The Song of Heshbon and David’s Nir,” 61 (1968): 301.
43 Meaning, “rebuilt and restored.”
44 Some scholars emend to בָּלְעָה (bal’ah), reading “and devoured,” instead of בַּעֲלֵי (ba’aley, “its lords”); cf. , , . This emendation is closer to the Greek and makes a better parallelism, but the makes good sense as it stands.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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, as far as the Arnon. Therefore the ballad singers say,

“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;

let the city of Sihon be established.

For fire came out from Heshbon,

flame from the city of Sihon.

It devoured Ar of Moab,

and swallowed the heights of the Arnon.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.

That is why the poets say:

“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;

let Sihon’s city be restored.

“Fire went out from Heshbon,

a blaze from the city of Sihon.

It consumed Ar of Moab,

the citizens of Arnon’s heights.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Heshbon was the city of King Sihon 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. Therefore the poets say:

Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt;

let the city of Sihon be restored.

For fire came out of Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon.

It consumed Ar of Moab,

the citizens of Arnon’s heights.

NLTNew Living Translation

Heshbon had been the capital of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had defeated a former Moabite king and seized all his land as far as the Arnon River. Therefore, the ancient poets wrote this about him:

“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt!

Let the city of Sihon be restored.

A fire flamed forth from Heshbon,

a blaze from the city of Sihon.

It burned the city of Ar in Moab;

it destroyed the rulers of the Arnon heights.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Because Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land from his hand until Arnon. Thus the ones who quote proverbs say,

“Come to Heshbon! Let it be built!

And let the city of Sihon be established.

Because fire went out from Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon;

it consumed Ar of Moab,

the lords of the high places of Arnon.

KJV 1900King James Version

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, even unto Arnon. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,

Come into Heshbon,

Let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon,

A flame from the city of Sihon:

It hath consumed Ar of Moab,

And the lords of the high places of Arnon.

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