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N U MBERS 2 1
concerning the water at Meribah. 25 Now take
Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor.
26 There you will remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron
will die there and join his ancestors.”
27 So Moses did as the Lord commanded. The
three of them went up Mount Hor together as
the whole community watched. 28 At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from
Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron’s son.
Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down.
29 When the people realized that Aaron had
died, all Israel mourned for him thirty days.
Victory over the Canaanites
The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in
the Negev, heard that the Israelites were
approaching on the road through Atharim. So
he attacked the Israelites and took some of them
as prisoners. 2 Then the people of Israel made
this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these
people over to us, we will completely destroy*
all their towns.” 3 The Lord heard the Israelites’
request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them
and their towns, and the place has been called
Hormah* ever since.
21
The Bronze Snake
4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount
Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea* to go
around the land of Edom. But the people grew
impatient with the long journey, 5 and they
began to speak against God and Moses. “Why
have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in
the wilderness?” they complained. “There is
nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And
we hate this horrible manna!”
6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among
the people, and many were bitten and died. 7 Then
the people came to Moses and cried out, “We
have sinned by speaking against the Lord and
against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the
snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of
a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All
who are bitten will live if they simply look at
it!” 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and
attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake
and be healed!
Israel’s Journey to Moab
10 The Israelites traveled next to Oboth and
camped there. 11 Then they went on to Iyeabarim, in the wilderness on the eastern border of Moab. 12 From there they traveled to the
valley of Zered Brook and set up camp. 13 Then
they moved out and camped on the far side of
the Arnon River, in the wilderness adjacent to
the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the
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boundary line between the Moabites and the
Amorites. 14 For this reason The Book of the Wars
of the Lord speaks of “the town of Waheb in the
area of Suphah, and the ravines of the Arnon
River, 15 and the ravines that extend as far as the
settlement of Ar on the border of Moab.”
16 From there the Israelites traveled to Beer,*
which is the well where the Lord said to Moses,
“Assemble the people, and I will give them
water.” 17 There the Israelites sang this song:
18
“Spring up, O well!
Yes, sing its praises!
Sing of this well,
which princes dug,
which great leaders hollowed out
with their scepters and staffs.”
Then the Israelites left the wilderness and
proceeded on through Mattanah, 19 Nahaliel,
and Bamoth. 20 After that they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah Peak overlooks the
wasteland.*
Victory over Sihon and Og
21 The Israelites sent ambassadors to King Sihon
of the Amorites with this message:
22 “Let
us travel through your land. We will
be careful not to go through your fields
and vineyards. We won’t even drink water
from your wells. We will stay on the king’s
road until we have passed through your
territory.”
23 But King Sihon refused to let them cross
his territory. Instead, he mobilized his entire
army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jahaz. 24 But the Israelites slaughtered them with their swords and
occupied their land from the Arnon River to the
Jabbok River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Ammonites was fortified.*
25 So Israel captured all the towns of the Amorites and settled in them, including the city of
Heshbon and its surrounding villages. 26 Heshbon had been the capital of King Sihon of the
Amorites. He had defeated a former Moabite
king and seized all his land as far as the Arnon
River. 27 Therefore, the ancient poets wrote this
about him:
28
“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt!
Let the city of Sihon be restored.
A fire flamed forth from Heshbon,
a blaze from the city of Sihon.
It burned the city of Ar in Moab;
21:2 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete
consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by
destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also
in 21:3. 21:3 Hormah means “destruction.” 21:4 Hebrew
sea of reeds. 21:16 Beer means “well.” 21:20 Or overlooks
Jeshimon. 21:24 Or because the terrain of the Ammonite
frontier was rugged; Hebrew reads because the boundary
of the Ammonites was strong.