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the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the Atharim road, he fought against Israel and captured some of them. 2 Then Israel made this vow to the Lord, “If You will indeed deliver this people into our hands, then we will completely destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. They completely destroyed them and their cities. So the place was named Hormah.
4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient and discouraged along the way. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread and no water, and we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people and many of the Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you, Pray to the Lord so that He will take the snakes away from us.”
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten and looks at it will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then whenever someone was bitten by a snake, he looked at the bronze snake and lived.
10 The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth. 11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that borders Moab on the east toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved on and camped in Wadi Zered. 13 They set out from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab between Moab and the Amorites. 14 That is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord:
“Waheb in Suphrah and the wadis,
the Arnon 15 and the slopes of the wadis
that extend to the site of Ar,
and lie along the border of Moab”.
16 From there they went to Beer, that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
17 Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well! Sing about it!
18 “The well the princes dug,
which the nobles of the people sank,
with a sceptre and with their staffs.”
Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in the territory of Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.
21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites to say:
22 “Let us pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards. We won’t not drink water from any well. We will travel along the king’s highway until we have passed through your territory.”
23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered whole army together and went out to attack Israel in the wilderness. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 24 Israel, however, struck him with the sword and took possession of his land from Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified.
25 Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and settled in these cities, including Heshbon and all its villages. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had captured all his land as far as the Arnon.
27 That is why the poets say:
“Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt;
let Sihon’s city be restored.
28 “For fire has come of Heshbon,
a blaze from the city of Sihon.
It has consumed Ar of Moab,
the lords of Arnon’s heights.
29 Woe to you, O Moab!
You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh!
He has given up his sons as fugitives,
and his daughters as captives,
to Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 “But we have overthrown them;
Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon.
We have demolished them as far as Nophah,
which extends to Medeba.”
31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.
32 After Moses sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who lived there.
33 Then they turned and went up along the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan went out against them with his whole army to do battle at Edrei.
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”
35 So they struck him down, together with his sons and all his people, until no one was left; and they took possession of his land.