Deuteronomy 2:24–4:46

Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

²⁴“Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge.^k See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite,^l king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage^m him in battle. ²⁵This very day I will begin to put the terrorⁿ and fear^o of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble^p and be in anguish because of you.”

²⁶From the Desert of Kedemoth^q I sent messengers to Sihon^r king of Heshbon offering peace^s and saying, ²⁷“Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.^{t 28}Sell us food to eat^u and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot^v—²⁹as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.” ³⁰But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord^w your God had made his spirit stubborn^x and his heart obstinate^y in order to give him into your hands,^z as he has now done.

³¹The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”^a

³²When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle^b at Jahaz, ³³the Lord our God delivered^c him over to us and we struck him down,^d together with his sons and his whole army. ³⁴At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed^ce them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. ³⁵But the livestock^f and the plunder^g from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. ³⁶From Aroer^h on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead,ⁱ not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave^j us all of them. ³⁷But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God,^k you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites,^l neither the land along the course of the Jabbok^m nor that around the towns in the hills.

Defeat of Og King of Bashan

3Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashanⁿ with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.^{o 2}The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid^p of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

³So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down,^q leaving no survivors.^{r 4}At that time we took all his cities.^s There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom^t in Bashan.^{u 5}All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. ⁶We completely destroyed^a them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying^bv every city—men, women and children. ⁷But all the livestock^w and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

⁸So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites^x the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.^{y 9}(Hermon is called Sirion^z by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)^{a 10}We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah^b and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. ¹¹(Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites.^c His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide.^c It is still in Rabbah^d of the Ammonites.)

Division of the Land

¹²Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer^e by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. ¹³The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh.^f (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.^{g 14}Jair,^h a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites;ⁱ it was named^j after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.^d) ¹⁵And I gave Gilead to Makir.^{k 16}But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River,^l which is the border of the Ammonites. ¹⁷Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah,^m from Kinnerethⁿ to the Sea of the Arabah^o (that is, the Dead Sea^p), below the slopes of Pisgah.

¹⁸I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given^q you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites.^{r 19}However, your wives,^s your children and your livestock^t (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, ²⁰until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

²¹At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. ²²Do not be afraid^u of them;^v the Lord your God himself will fight^w for you.”

²³At that time I pleaded^x with the Lord: ²⁴“Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness^y and your strong hand. For what god^z is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works^a you do?^{b 25}Let me go over and see the good land^c beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.^d”

²⁶But because of you the Lord was angry^e with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. ²⁷Go up to the top of Pisgah^f and look west and north and south and east.^g Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross^h this Jordan.^{i 28}But commission^j Joshua, and encourage^k and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across^l and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” ²⁹So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.^m

Obedience Commanded

4Now, Israel, hear the decreesⁿ and laws I am about to teach^o you. Follow them so that you may live^p and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ²Do not add^q to what I command you and do not subtract^r from it, but keep^s the commands^t of the Lord your God that I give you.

³You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.^u The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, ⁴but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

⁵See, I have taught^v you decrees and laws^w as the Lord my God commanded^x me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering^y to take possession of it. ⁶Observe^z them carefully, for this will show your wisdom^a and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”^{b 7}What other nation is so great^c as to have their gods near^d them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ⁸And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws^e as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

⁹Only be careful,^f and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach^g them to your children^h and to their children after them. ¹⁰Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,ⁱ when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn^j to revere^k me as long as they live in the land^l and may teach^m them to their children.” ¹¹You came near and stood at the foot of the mountainⁿ while it blazed with fire^o to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.^{p 12}Then the Lord spoke^q to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;^r there was only a voice.^{s 13}He declared to you his covenant,^t the Ten Commandments,^u which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. ¹⁴And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws^v you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

¹⁵You saw no form^w of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb^x out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,^{y 16}so that you do not become corrupt^z and make for yourselves an idol,^a an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,^{b 18}or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. ¹⁹And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,^c the moon and the stars^d—all the heavenly array^e—do not be enticed^f into bowing down to them and worshiping^g things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace,^h out of Egypt,ⁱ to be the people of his inheritance,^j as you now are.

²¹The Lord was angry with me^k because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. ²²I will die in this land;^l I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.^{m 23}Be careful not to forget the covenantⁿ of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol^o in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. ²⁴For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,^p a jealous God.^q

²⁵After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land…