Num 21 | NASB2020 | STEP | When the Canaanite , the king of Arad , who lived in the Negev , heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim , he fought against Israel and took some of them captive .

Numbers 21

Arad Conquered

1 When the Canaanite, the king of ^aArad, who lived in the ^{▼▼I.e., South country}Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 So ^cIsrael made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed hand over this people to me, then I will ^{▼▼Lit devote to destruction}utterly destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord heard the voice of Israel and turned over the Canaanites; then they ^{▼▼Lit devoted to destruction}utterly destroyed them and their cities. And the place was named ^{▼▼I.e., a devoted thing; or Destruction
,} ^gHormah.

4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the ^{▼▼Lit Sea of Reeds}Red Sea, to ⁱgo around the land of Edom; and the ^{▼▼Lit soul of the people was short}people became impatient because of the journey. 5 So the people spoke against God and Moses: “ ^kWhy have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no ^{▼▼Lit bread}food and no water, and ^{▼▼Lit our soul is disgusted
,} ⁿwe are disgusted with ^{▼▼I.e., the manna}this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

6 ^pThen the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and ^qthey bit the people, so that ^rmany people of Israel died. 7 ^sSo the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; ^tintercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “ ^{▼▼Lit Make for yourself}Make a ^vfiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” 9 So Moses made a ^wbronze serpent and put it on the flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

10 ^xNow the sons of Israel moved out and camped in Oboth. 11 Then they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, to the ^{▼▼Lit sunrise}east. 12 ^zFrom there they set out and camped in ^{▼▼I.e., a dry stream bed, except in the rainy season}Wadi Zered. 13 From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites; ^abfor the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 For that reason it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

“Waheb in Suphah,
And the ^{▼▼I.e., dry stream beds}wadis of the Arnon,
15 And the slope of the wadis
That extends to the site of ^adAr,
And leans to the border of Moab.”
16 ^aeFrom there they continued to ^{▼▼I.e., a well}Beer, that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Assemble the people, that I may give them water.”

17 ^agThen Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
18 “The well, which the leaders dug,
Which the nobles of the people hollowed out,
With the scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they continued to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the land of Moab, at the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the ^{▼▼Or Jeshimon}desert.

Two Victories

21 ^aiThen Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “ ^ajLet me pass through your land. We will not turn off into field or vineyard; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the king’s road until we have passed through your border.” 23 ^akBut Sihon would not permit Israel to pass through his border. Instead, Sihon gathered all his people and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and came to ^alJahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then ^amIsrael struck him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the sons of Ammon; for the ^anborder of the sons of Ammon was ^{▼▼So LXX; MT strong}Jazer. 25 Israel took all these cities, and ^apIsrael lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all her ^{▼▼Lit daughters}villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. 27 For that reason those who use proverbs say,

“Come to Heshbon! Let it be built!
So let the city of Sihon be established.
28 “ ^arFor a fire spread from Heshbon,
A flame from the town of Sihon;
It devoured ^asAr of Moab,
The ^{▼▼Lit lords of the
,} ^audominant ^{▼▼Or Bamoth}heights of the Arnon.
29 “ ^awWoe to you, Moab!
You are destroyed, people of ^axChemosh!
^ayHe has given his sons as fugitives,
^azAnd his daughters into captivity,
To an Amorite king, Sihon.
30 “But we have shot them down with arrows,
Heshbon is destroyed as far as ^baDibon,
Then we have laid waste as far as Nophah,
Which reaches to Medeba.”
31 So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 Now Moses sent men to spy out ^bbJazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

33 ^bcThen they turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out against them ^{▼▼Lit he and}with all his people, for battle at ^beEdrei. 34 But the Lord said to Moses, “ ^bfDo not fear him, for I have handed him over to you, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” 35 So ^bgthey ^{▼▼Lit struck}killed him and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor left; and they took possession of his land.