Deu 3 | EE | STEP | Then we turned and went up, along the road towards Bashan. Og, king of Bashan, marched out to fight against us. He brought his whole army with him to Edrei.

Deuteronomy 3

The Israelites beat Og, king of Bashan

1 Then we turned and went up, along the road towards Bashan. Og, king of Bashan, marched out to fight against us. He brought his whole army with him to Edrei. 2 But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not be afraid of him. I have given him to you with his whole army and his country. You must do to Og as you did to Sihon. Sihon was king of the Amorites and he lived in Heshbon.’

3 So the LORD our God also gave Og, king of Bashan, and all his army to us. We killed them and we left no one alive. 4 At that time, we marched into all of his cities. He had 60 cities and we marched into all of them. This was all the land called Argob in Bashan, where King Og ruled. 5 Every city had high walls and gates, which the people locked. There were also very many villages without walls. 6 We destroyed them completely, as we had done to the cities of Sihon, king of Heshbon. We destroyed every city and killed all the men, women and children. 7 But we kept all the animals and the good things from the cities for ourselves.

8 So, at that time, we marched into the countries of these two kings of the Amorites. This country was east of the River Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon. 9 (The people from Sidon call Mount Hermon, Sirion. The Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We marched into all of the towns in the high, flat land and the whole of Gilead. We marched into all of Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei. These are towns in the country of Og, in Bashan. 11 (Only Og, king of Bashan, from the descendants of the Rephaites was still alive. He had an iron bed. It was more than 4 metres long and 2 metres wide. This bed is still in Rabbah, a town that belongs to the people from Ammon.)

Moses divides the country

12 When we marched into the country, I gave certain parts to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. I gave them the land north of Aroer by the River Arnon. This included one half of the hills and the towns in Gilead. 13 The other half of Gilead I gave to one half of the tribe of Manasseh. I also gave to them Bashan, the country that Og had ruled. (All the country of Argob in Bashan had been called the country of the Rephaites.) 14 A man called Jair, of the tribe of Manasseh, marched into all the land round Argob. He reached the edges of Geshur and Maacah. Then he gave his own name to that land. To this day, Bashan is called Havvoth-Jair. 15 And I gave Gilead to Machir, from the tribe of Manasseh. 16 But to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, I gave land from Gilead to the middle of the River Arnon. Their land is as far as the River Jabbok, where the country of the people from Ammon begins. 17 The edge of their land on the west was the River Jordan. This is from Arabah and Chinnereth to the Salt Sea, below Mount Pisgah.

18 At that time I said to you, ‘The LORD your God has given this land to you, for you to live in it. But all your fighting men, with their arms, must cross the River Jordan. You must go over before the other descendants of Israel. 19 But your wives, your children and your animals can stay in your towns. (I know that you have many animals.) 20 You must travel with the other Israelites until the LORD gives them rest. He has already given rest to you. The other Israelites must march into the country which the LORD your God is giving to them. This is the country across the Jordan. Then you can return to the land that I have given to you.’ ^{▼▼3:20 The countries of Og and Bashan were not in Canaan. But the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh returned to live there, many years after this.}

God tells Moses that he cannot cross the River Jordan

21 At that time, I commanded Joshua, ‘You have seen with your own eyes everything that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same thing to the countries of all the kings where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God himself will fight for you.’

23 At that time, I asked the LORD, again and again: 24 ‘LORD my God! I am your servant. You are showing me how great and how strong you are. There is no other god in heaven or on earth as great as you are. No other god can do the great things that you do. 25 Please let me go over the River Jordan! Please let me see the good country, the hills, the mountains and Lebanon!’

26 But the LORD was angry with me, because of you. He would not listen to me. He said, ‘That is enough! Do not speak to me any more about this thing. 27 Go up to the top of Mount Pisgah. Look west and north and south and east. Look at the country with your own eyes, because you will not cross this River Jordan. 28 Now you must tell Joshua what to do. Give him help. Teach him to be brave. He will lead Israel’s people over the river. He will be the leader in the fight against their enemies. Together they will march into the country that you are going to look at.’

29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth-Peor.