Numbers

Numbers 21

Arad, and the Place Called Destruction

1 And Arad the Canaanite king, who lived by the wilderness, heard that Israel was coming by the road of Atharim; and he made war on Israel and carried some of them off as prisoners. 2 And Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, 2 “If you will hand this people over into my power, I will devote them and their cities to destruction for you.” 3 And the Lord listened to Israel's voice and handed the Canaanite over into his power; and Israel devoted him and his cities to destruction, and they called the name of that place Destruction.

The Bronze Snake

4 And they set out from Mount Hor by the road that leads to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people lost heart on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses. They said, 5 “Why this? Did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us in the wilderness? There is no bread and no water, and our soul is sickened by this worthless bread.” 6 And the Lord sent deadly snakes among the people, and they bit the people, and many of the children of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, 7 “We have sinned, because we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, and let him take the snakes away from us.” 7 And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, 8 “Make yourself a snake and put it up on a pole; and whenever a snake bites a man, everyone who has been bitten and looks at it will live.” 9 And Moses made a snake of bronze and put it up on a pole; and whenever a snake bit a man and he looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

On the Road, and the Song of the Well

10 And the children of Israel set out and camped at Oboth. 11 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, out in the wilderness on the far side, opposite Moab toward the east. 12 And from there they set out and camped in the valley of Zered. 13 And they set out from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness, the country that runs out from the borders of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 That is why it is said in a book:

14 A war of the Lord has set Zoob on fire,

14 and the streams of the Arnon;

15 and he set the streams to make Er a dwelling place,

15 and it lies close to the borders of Moab.

16 And from there they came to the well. This is the well the Lord spoke of when he said to Moses, “Gather the people, and I will give them water to drink.” 17 Then Israel sang this song at the well:

17 Begin the song of the well —

18 the leaders dug it,

18 the kings of the nations, in their kingdom,

18 in their lordship they sank it in the rock.

18 And from the well they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in the plain of Moab, seen from the top of the cut rock that looks out toward the wilderness.

Sihon and Og

21 And Moses sent envoys to Sihon king of the Amorites with words of peace: 22 “Let us pass through your land. We will go by the road; we will not turn aside into a field or a vineyard. We will not drink water out of your well. We will go by the king's highway until we have gone past your borders.” 23 And Sihon would not let Israel pass through his borders. And Sihon gathered all his people and went out to draw up a line of battle against Israel in the wilderness; and he came to Jahaz and drew up his line against Israel. 24 And Israel struck him down with the edge of the sword and took his land for their own, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the children of Ammon; for Jazer is the border of the children of Ammon. 25 And Israel took all their cities, and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all the towns belonging to it. 26 For Heshbon is the city of Sihon king of the Amorites; he had earlier fought against the king of Moab and had taken all his land from Aroer to the Arnon. 27 That is why the makers of sayings say:

27 Come to Heshbon,

27 that the city of Sihon may be built and made ready.

28 For a fire has gone out from Heshbon,

28 a flame from the city of Sihon,

28 and it has eaten as far as Moab

28 and swallowed the pillars of the Arnon.

29 Grief to you, Moab! You are lost, people of Chemosh.

29 Their sons have been sold to save their lives,

29 and their daughters are prisoners of Sihon king of the Amorites.

30 And their seed will perish from Heshbon as far as Dibon,

30 and their women have kindled a fire against Moab still further.

31 And Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent men to spy out Jazer; and they took it and its villages, and drove out the Amorite who lived there. 33 And they turned and went up by the road that leads to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet them, he and all his people, to fight at Edrei. 34 And the Lord said to Moses, 34 “Do not be afraid of him, because I have handed him and all his people and all his land over into your hands; and you are to do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” 35 And he struck him down, and his sons, and all his people, until not one of his was left alive; and they took his land for their own.