Numbers 21

Israel Defeats the Canaanites

1 The king of Arad, a Canaanite living in the southern land, heard Israel was coming, so he attacked them and took some Israelites as prisoners.

2 Then Israel made a vow to the Lord: “If You help us defeat them, we will completely destroy their cities.”

3 The Lord listened and gave them victory. Israel wiped out the Canaanites and their towns, so they named the place Hormah (which means “destruction”).

The People Complain Again & God Sends Fiery Snakes

4 Then Israel traveled around Edom’s land toward the Red Sea. But the people got impatient along the way.

5 They complained against God and Moses: “Why did You bring us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, There is no food! There is no water! And we hate this nasty manna!”

6 So the Lord sent venomous snakes among them, and a lot of people got bit and died.

7 The people ran to Moses and said, “We messed up! We spoke against the Lord and against you. Please pray to the Lord to take these snakes away!” So Moses prayed for them.

8 The Lord told Moses, “Make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”

9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. When anyone got bitten, if they looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Israel Travels & Camps in Different Places

10 The Israelites moved and camped at Oboth.

11 Then they moved from Oboth to Iye Abarim, in the wilderness facing Moab.

12 From there, they moved to Zered Valley.

13 Then they camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness that borders the land of the Amorites. The Arnon River marks the boundary between Moab and the Amorites.

14 That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord mentions, “Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon.”

15 “The slopes of the valley, that stretch down to Ar and touch the border of Moab.”

16 From there, Israel moved to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people, and I will give them water.”

17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, well! Sing to it!”

18 “A well dug by the princes, carved by the leaders with their staffs and scepters.” Then they traveled from the wilderness to Mattanah.

19 From Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth.

20 Then from Bamoth to the valley in Moab, where the Pisgah cliffs overlook the wasteland.

Israel Defeats King Sihon of the Amorites

21 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites with a request.

22 “Let us pass through your land. We will not go through your fields or vineyards. We will not drink from your wells. We will stay on the main road until we pass through.”

23 But King Sihon would not let Israel pass. Instead, he gathered his army and attacked them in the wilderness at Jahaz.

24 Israel fought back, defeated him with the sword, and took over his land, from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, all the way to the border of the Ammonites. But the Ammonite border was well-defended.

25 Israel took all the Amorite cities and lived in them, including Heshbon and its surrounding villages.

26 Heshbon had been the capital of King Sihon, who had fought against the Moabites and taken their land up to the Arnon River.

27 That is why the poets said, “Come to Heshbon! Let it be rebuilt, let Sihon’s city be restored!”

28 “A fire came out of Heshbon, a blaze from Sihon’s city. It burned down Ar in Moab, the lords of Arnon’s heights.”

29 “Woe to you, Moab! You are ruined, people of Chemosh! Your sons were taken as captives, your daughters carried away by Sihon, king of the Amorites.”

30 “But we overthrew them! Heshbon was destroyed, all the way to Dibon. We laid waste to Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”

Israel Defeats King Og of Bashan

31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.

32 Then Moses sent spies to scout out Jazer, and Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites living there.

33 Then they turned and headed toward Bashan, where King Og and his army came out to fight them at Edrei.

34 But the Lord told Moses, “Do not be afraid of him. I have handed him, his people, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites in Heshbon.”

35 So they defeated him, his sons, and his entire army, not a single one survived. And Israel took over his land.