Num 21 | AB | STEP | And Arad the Canaanite king who dwelt by the wilderness, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he made war against Israel, and carried off some of them as captives.

‏ Numbers 21

1 And Arad the Canaanite king who dwelt by the wilderness, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he made war against Israel, and carried off some of them as captives. 2 And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If you will deliver this people into my power, I will devote it and its cities to You. 3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered the Canaanite into his power; and Israel devoted him and his cities, and they called the name of that place Anathema. 4 And having departed from Mount Hor by the way leading to the Red Sea, they compdonkeyed the land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, Why is this? Have you brought us out of Egypt to slay us in the wilderness? For there is not bread nor water, and our soul loathes this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent among the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and many people of the children of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against you: pray therefore to the Lord, and let Him take away the serpent from us. 8 And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make for yourself a serpent, and put it on a staff; and it shall come to pass that whenever a serpent shall bite a man, everyone so bitten that looks upon it shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a staff. And it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the bronze serpent, he lived. 10 And the children of Israel departed, and encamped in Oboth. 11 And having departed from Oboth, they encamped in Ije Abarim, on the farther side in the wilderness, which is opposite Moab, toward the east. 12 And from there they departed, and encamped in the Valley of Zered. 13 And they departed from there and encamped on the other side of the Arnon in the wilderness, the country which extends from the coasts of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in a book, A war of the Lord has set on fire Zoob, and the brooks of Arnon. 15 And He has appointed brooks to reach Ar to dwell there; and it lies near to the coasts of Moab. 16 And from there they came to the well; this is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people, and I will give them water to drink. 17 Then Israel sang this song at the well: Begin to sing of the well; 18 the princes dug it, the kings of the nations in their kingdom, in their lordship sank it in the rock: and they went from the well to Mattaniah, 19 and from Mattaniah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to Janen, which is in the plain of Moab as seen from the top of the quarried rock that looks toward the wilderness. 20 And Moses sent ambassadors to Sihon king of the Amorites, with peaceable words, saying, 21 We will pass through your land, we will go by the road; we will not turn aside to the field or to the vineyard. 22 We will not drink water out of your well; we will go by the king's highway, until we have past your boundaries. 23 And Sihon did not allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Sihon gathered all his people, and went out to set the battle in array against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jahaz, and set the battle in array against Israel. 24 And Israel struck him with the slaughter of the sword, and they became possessors of his land, from Arnon to Jabbok, as far as the children of Ammon (for Jahaz is the border of the children of Ammon). 25 And Israel took all their cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all cities belonging to it. 26 For Heshbon is the city of Sihon king of the Amorites; and he before fought against the king of Moab, and they took all his land, from Aroer to Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in dark speeches say, Come to Heshbon, that the city of Sihon may be built and prepared. 28 For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon, and has consumed as far as Moab, and devoured the pillars of Arnon. 29 Woe to you, Moab! You are lost, O people of Chemosh! Their sons are sold for preservation, and their daughters are captives to Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 And their seed shall perish from Heshbon to Dibon; and their women have kindled a fire against Moab. 31 And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took it, and its villages, and cast out the Amorites that dwelt there. 33 And having returned, they went up the road that leads to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan went forth to meet them, and all his people, to war at Edrei. 34 And the Lord said to Moses, Fear him not; for I have delivered him and all his people, and all his land, into your hands; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelled in Heshbon. 35 And he struck him and his sons, and all his people, until he left none of his to be taken alive; and they inherited his land.