²³But King Sihon refused to let them cross his territory. Instead, he mobilized his entire army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jahaz. ²⁴But the Israelites slaughtered them with their swords and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Ammonites was fortified.

²⁵So Israel captured all the towns of the Amorites and settled in them, including the city of Heshbon and its surrounding villages. ²⁶Heshbon 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. ²⁷Therefore, the ancient poets wrote this about him:

“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt!

Let the city of Sihon be restored.

²⁸A 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.

²⁹What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab!

You are finished, O worshipers of Chemosh!

Chemosh has left his sons as refugees,

his daughters as captives of Sihon, the Amorite king.

³⁰We have utterly destroyed them,

from Heshbon to Dibon.

We have completely wiped them out

as far away as Nophah and Medeba.”

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