1 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim{atarim: route linked with scouting}, he fought against Israel and took some captives{shevi: prisoners}.
2 And Israel made a vow {neder: solemn pledge} to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Judge} and said, “If You will surely give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”
3 And the LORD {YHWH, Deliverer} listened to the voice of Israel, and He gave the Canaanite into their hand; and He utterly destroyed {acharēm: placed under the ban} them and their cities; and He called the place Hormah.
4 And they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Sea of Reeds {yam suf: Reed Sea / Red Sea region} to go around the land of Edom; and the soul {nefesh: inner being} of the people became impatient on the way.
5 And the people spoke against God {Elohim, Supreme Authority} and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread {lechem: basic sustenance}, and there is no water; and our soul is weary of this worthless bread.”
6 And the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and many Israelites died {vayamat: ceased to live}.
7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} and against you. Pray to the LORD that He may remove the serpent {nachash: agent of punishment} from upon us.” And Moses prayed on behalf of the people.
8 And the LORD {YHWH, Life Restorer} said to Moses, “Make for yourself a fiery serpent {saraf: burning serpent} and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten looks at it and lives.”
9 And Moses made a serpent of bronze {nehoshet: copper-alloy metal} and set it upon the standard {nes: signal pole}; and it came to pass, if a serpent bit any man, when he looked at the bronze serpent he lived.
10 And the sons of Israel {benei yisra’el: covenant community} set out and camped at Oboth {oboth: wilderness stop}.
11 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-ha-Abarim {iye-ha-avarim: crossing heights} in the wilderness that overlooks Moab, toward the east {mizrach: direction of sunrise}.
12 From there they journeyed and camped in the valley{nachal: seasonal streambed} of Zered{zared: border stream}.
13 From there they traveled and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness {midbar: desert terrain}, coming out from the border of the Amorite {emori: Amorite people}; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorite.
14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Warrior}: Waheb in Suphah and the ravines {nechal: valley-stream} of Arnon.
15 And the slope {ešed: descending bank} of the ravines which extends to the settlement of Ar {Ar: fortified Moabite city}, and leans against the border of Moab.
16 And from there they came to Beer—it is the well which the LORD {YHWH, Sustaining Provider} said to Moses: “Gather the people {ha-am: whole assembly}, and I will give them water.”
17 Then Israel sang this song, “Spring up, O well {be’er: source of water}; sing to her {enu: call out in song}!”
18 The well {be’er: water source} that the princes dug and that the nobles of the people bored out with the scepter {mechoqeq: appointed leader} and with their staffs. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah.
19 And from Mattanah {mattanah: gift} they went to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth {bamoth: high places}.
20 And from Bamoth to the valley {gai: lowland depression} in the field of Moab, to the head {rosh: summit} of the Pisgah which gazes upon the face of the wasteland.
21 And Israel {Yisra’el: appointed assembly} sent messengers {malakhim: royal envoys} to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying.
22 Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into a field or into a vineyard. We will not drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway {derekh hamelekh: main royal road} until we have passed through your border {gevul: territorial boundary}.
23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people and went out to meet them toward the wilderness {midbar: untamed land}. He arrived at Jahaz {Yahatzah: frontier fortress} and fought against Israel.
24 And Israel {Yisrael: covenant people} struck him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from Arnon to Yabbok, up to the border {gevul: defensive boundary} of the sons of Ammon, because the boundary was fortified.
25 And Israel {Yisrael: Chosen People} took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorite in Heshbon and in all its villages {benoteyha: dependent towns}.
26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites {ha-emori: Amorite people}, and it was he who fought against the first king of Moab and took his entire {kol: complete territory} territory from his hand as far as the Arnon.
27 Therefore the ones who speak in proverbs will say, “Come to Heshbon {Heshbon: strategic city}, let it be built; and let the city of Sihon {Sihon: Amorite ruler} be firmly established.”
28 For a fire went out from Heshbon, a flame {lehavah: burning blaze} from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab and the owners of the high places {bamot: cultic heights} of Arnon.
29 Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, people of Chemosh {kemosh: national deity}; he has given his sons as fugitives and his daughters into captivity {bashshevit: forced exile} to Sihon, king of the Amorites.
30 And we overthrew them; Heshbon {ḥeš-bōn: chief city} has perished as far as Dibon, and we laid waste {vanāšîm: brought to ruin} as far as Nophah; and fire spread as far as Medeba.
31 So Israel {Yisrael: Covenant People} dwelt in the land {eretz: territorial inheritance} of the Amorite.
32 And Moses {Mosheh: Conquest Leader} sent men to spy out Jazer, and they captured its towns {benoteha: daughter settlements}, and they dispossessed the Amorite who was there.
33 And they turned and went up by the road {dereḳh: path} to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan came out to meet them, he and all his people, for the battle at Edrei {edrei: fortified city}.
34 And the LORD {YHWH, Divine Promiser} said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand along with all his people and his land. And you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon {sihon: Amorite Monarch}, king of the Amorites, who dwells in Heshbon.”
35 And they struck him down and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor{sarid: one who escapes}; and they took possession of his land{artzo: territorial inheritance}.