Deuteronomy 2

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 "When we did turn and proceed into the desert on the Red Sea road, as the LORD had commanded me, we circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time.	1 “And setting out from there, we arrived at the wilderness which leads to the Red Sea, just as the Lord had spoken to me. And we encompassed Mount Seir for a long time.
2 Finally the LORD said to me,	2 And the Lord said to me:
3 'You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north.	3 ‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north.
4 Give this order to the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful	4 And instruct the people, saying: You shall cross through the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, and they will fear you.
5 not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.	5 Therefore, take care diligently, lest you be moved against them. For I will not give to you from their land even as much as the step that one foot can tread upon, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
6 You shall purchase from them with silver the food you eat and the well water you drink.	6 You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink.
7 The LORD, your God, has blessed you in all your undertakings; he has been concerned about your journey through this vast desert. It is now forty years that he has been with you, and you have never been in want.'	7 The Lord your God has blessed you in every work of your hands. The Lord your God, dwelling with you, knows your journey, how you crossed through this great wilderness over forty years, and how you have been lacking in nothing.’
8 "Then we left behind us the Arabah route, Elath, Ezion-geber, and Seir, where our kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, live; and we went on toward the desert of Moab.	8 And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab.
9 And the LORD said to me, 'Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their own.	9 And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fight against the Moabites, nor should you go to battle against them. For I will not give to you anything from their land, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’
10 (Formerly the Emim lived there, a people strong and numerous and tall like the Anakim;	10 The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim.
11 like them they were considered Rephaim. It was the Moabites who called them Emim.	11 They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim.
12 In Seir, however, the former inhabitants were the Horites; the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, clearing them out of the way and taking their place, just as the Israelites have done in the land of their heritage which the LORD has given them.)	12 The Horites also formerly lived at Seir. When these had been driven out and destroyed, the sons of Esau lived there, just as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to him.
13 Get ready, then, to cross the Wadi Zered.' So we crossed it.	13 Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place.
14 Thirty-eight years had elapsed between our departure from Kadesh-barnea and that crossing; in the meantime the whole generation of soldiers had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn they should.	14 Then, from the time that we advanced from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the torrent Zered, there were thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of the men who were fit for war had been consumed out of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn.
15 For it was the LORD'S hand that was against them, till he wiped them out of the camp completely.	15 For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp.
16 "When at length death had put an end to all the soldiers among the people,	16 Then, after all the fighting men had fallen,
17 the LORD said to me,	17 the Lord spoke to me, saying:
18 'You are now about to leave Ar and the territory of Moab behind.	18 ‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar.
19 As you come opposite the Ammonites, do not show hostility or come in conflict with them, for I will not give you possession of any land of the Ammonites, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their own.	19 And when you have arrived in the vicinity of the sons of Ammon, be careful that you do not fight against them, nor should you be moved to battle. For I will not give to you from the land of the sons of Ammon, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’
20 (This also was considered a country of the Rephaim from its former inhabitants, whom the Ammonites called Zamzummim,	20 It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim.
21 a people strong and numerous and tall like the Anakim. But these, too, the LORD cleared out of the way for the Ammonites, who ousted them and took their place.	21 They are a people, great and numerous, and of lofty stature, like the Anakim, whom the Lord wiped away before their face. And he caused them to live there in place of them,
22 He had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who dwell in Seir, by clearing the Horites out of their way, so that the descendants of Esau have taken their place down to the present.	22 just as he had done for the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, wiping out the Horites and delivering their land to them, which they possess even to the present time.
23 So also the Caphtorim, migrating from Caphtor, cleared away the Avvim, who once dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, and took their place.)	23 Likewise the Hevites, who were living in small villages as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians, who went forth from Cappadocia, and they wiped them out and lived in their place.
24 "'Advance now across the Wadi Arnon. I now deliver into your hands Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin the occupation; engage him in battle.	24 ‘Rise up and cross the torrent Arnon! Behold, I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, into your hand, and so, begin to possess his land and to engage in battle against him.
25 This day I will begin to put a fear and dread of you into every nation under the heavens, so that at the mention of your name they will quake and tremble before you.'	25 Today I will begin to send the terror and dread of you among the peoples who are living under all of heaven, so that, when they hear your name, they may be afraid, and may tremble in the manner of a woman giving birth, and may be gripped by anguish.’
26 "So I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace:	26 Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying:
27 'Let me pass through your country by the highway; I will go along it without turning aside to the right or to the left.	27 ‘We will cross through your land. We will advance by the public way. We will not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.
28 For the food I eat which you will supply, and for the water you give me to drink, you shall be paid in silver. Only let me march through,	28 Sell us food for a price, so that we may eat. Provide us with water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that you allow us to pass through,
29 as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar have done, until I cross the Jordan into the land which the LORD, our God, is about to give us.'	29 just as the sons of Esau have done, who live at Seir, and the Moabites, who abide in Ar, until we arrive at the Jordan, and we cross to the land which the Lord our God will give to us.’
30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through his land, because the LORD, your God, made him stubborn in mind and obstinate in heart that he might deliver him up to you, as indeed he has now done.	30 And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, was not willing to grant passage to us. For the Lord your God had hardened his spirit, and had fastened his heart, so that he would be delivered into your hands, just as you now see.
31 "Then the LORD said to me, 'Now that I have already begun to hand over to you Sihon and his land, begin the actual occupation.'	31 And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’
32 So Sihon and all his people advanced against us to join battle at Jahaz;	32 And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz.
33 but since the LORD, our God, had delivered him to us, we defeated him and his sons and all his people.	33 And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people.
34 At that time we seized all his cities and doomed them all, with their men, women and children; we left no survivor.	34 And we seized all his cities at that time, putting to death their inhabitants: men as well as women and children. We left nothing of them,
35 Our only booty was the livestock and the loot of the captured cities.	35 except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities,
36 From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and from the city in the wadi itself, as far as Gilead, no city was too well fortified for us to whom the LORD had delivered them up.	36 from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town which is situated in a valley, all the way to Gilead. There was not a village or city which escaped from our hands. The Lord our God delivered everything to us,
37 However, in obedience to the command of the LORD, our God, you did not encroach upon any of the Ammonite land, neither the region bordering on the Wadi Jabbok, nor the cities of the highlands.	37 except the land of the sons of Ammon, which we did not approach, and all that is adjacent to the torrent Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God prohibited to us.”