Deuteronomy

Moses gives speeches about laws and the importance of following God before the Israelites enter the Promised Land.

Chapter 2

1 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

*Then we went, following the path by the Red Sea as the Lord told me, and we traveled around Mount Seir for a long time.

2 And the LORD spake unto me, saying,

*And the Lord told me, saying,

3 Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

*You have been going around this mountain for too long; now go towards the north.

4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

*Tell the people, "Go through the land of your relatives, the descendants of Esau living in Seir. They will be scared of you. Be careful and watch out for yourselves."

5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

*Do not interfere with them, as I won't give you any of their land, not even an inch; because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his property.

6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

*Buy their meat with money to eat, and buy their water with money to drink.

7 For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

*The Lord has blessed you in everything you do. He knows you've walked through this big wilderness for forty years. The Lord has always been with you, and you haven't missed anything.

8 And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

*When we left our relatives, the people of Esau living in Seir, we went through flat land from Elath to Eziongaber. Then, we turned and took a different path through the desert of Moab.

9 And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.

*And God told me, "Don't fight against the Moabites or cause them trouble. I won't give you their land to live in. Instead, I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their home."

10 The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

*In the past, the Emims lived there - they were a large, tall people, similar to the Anakims.

11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

*These were considered big like the Anakims; however, the Moabites refer to them as Emims.

12 The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.

*The Horims lived in Seir long ago. Later, the descendants of Esau took their place after defeating them. Just like Israel took over the land given to them by God.

13 Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.

*"Now get up, I said, and cross the stream called Zered," I added. "So that's what we did, crossing the stream Zered."

14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.

*The time it took us to travel from Kadeshbarnea to the brook Zered was 38 years. During this journey, all the warriors from the original group died, just like the LORD had promised.

15 For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

*Indeed, the Lord's hand was against them, causing their destruction within the group until they were all gone.

16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

*Then it happened, after all the warrior men died from the population,

17 That the LORD spake unto me, saying,

*The Lord spoke to me, saying,

18 Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

*You need to cross through Ar, which is along the coast of Moab, today.

19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

*When you approach the people of Ammon, do not cause them trouble or interfere with them. I won't give you any part of their land; I have given it to the descendants of Lot instead.

20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

*This place was known as a land of big people. Long ago, large people lived there. The Ammonites called these people Zamzummims.

21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

*A large, numerous, and tall people, like the Anakims, took their place after the LORD destroyed them. These people then lived in their former territory.

22 As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

*As with the descendants of Esau living in Seir, when he annihilated the Horims, allowing them to take over and live in their place ever since.

23 And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

*And the Avims living in Hazerim to Azzah were defeated by the Caphtorims from Caphtor. The Caphtorims took over their land and made it their home.

24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

*Get up, go on your trip, and cross the Arnon River. I've given Sihon the Amorite, the ruler of Heshbon and his territory, to you. Start taking control of it and fight against him in battle.

25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

*Today, I will start making people all around the world afraid of you. When they hear about you, they will tremble and feel worried because of you.

26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

*I sent messengers to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, from the desert of Kedemoth, with messages of peace.

27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.

*Let me go through your country; I'll stay on the main road and won't veer left or right.

28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;

*You shall sell me meat for payment so I can eat, and provide water for payment so I can drink. However, I will only travel through on foot.

29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.

*Like how the people of Esau in Seir and the Moabites in Ar treated me, I will do this until I cross the Jordan River to reach the land that the LORD gives us.

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

*But Sihon, the ruler of Heshbon, wouldn't let us go past his land. The Lord made his mind stubborn so he could be easily taken by you, just as happened today.

31 And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

*And God told me, Look, I've already started giving Sihon and his land to you. Now go and take it, so you can have his land as your own.

32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

*Then Sihon and his people fought against us at Jahaz.

33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

*And God helped us defeat him; so we defeated him, his children, and everyone with him.

34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

*At that time, we captured all his cities and completely destroyed everyone—men, women, and children—in each city, sparing none.

35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

*We only took the animals and city treasures for ourselves.

36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:

*Starting from Aroer near the edge of the Arnon River, through the city by the river and up to Gilead, we didn't find any city too powerful against us. The Lord our God gave us complete control over all these areas.

37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.

*You did not come to the land of the Ammonites or any part of the Jabbok River. You also didn't go to the mountain cities or anywhere else our God told us not to go.

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