Israel Destroys Arad
1The Canaanite king of the city of Arad lived in the Negev Desert. He heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim. So he attacked the Israelites. He captured some of them. 2Then Israel made a promise to the Lord. They said, “Hand these people over to us. If you do, we will set their cities apart to you in a special way to be destroyed.” 3The Lord gave Israel what they asked for. He handed the Canaanites over to them. Israel completely destroyed them and their towns. So that place was named Hormah.
Moses Makes a Bronze Snake
4The Israelites traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea. They wanted to go around Edom. But they grew tired on the way. 5So they spoke against God and against Moses. They said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? Do you want us to die here in the desert? We don’t have any bread! We don’t have any water! And we hate this awful food!”
6Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites. The snakes bit them. Many of the people died. 7The others came to Moses. They said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake. Put it up on a pole. Then anyone who is bitten can look at it and remain alive.” 9So Moses made a bronze snake. He put it up on a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake remained alive.
The People Continue On to Moab
10The Israelites moved on. They camped at Oboth. 11Then they started out from Oboth. They camped in Iye Abarim. It’s in the desert on the eastern border of Moab. 12From there they moved on. They camped in the Zered Valley. 13They started out from there and camped by the Arnon River. It’s in the desert that spreads out into the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the border of Moab. It’s between Moab and the Amorites. 14Here is what the Book of the Wars of the Lord says about it.
“Sing about Zahab in Suphah and the valleys.
Sing about the Arnon 15and the slopes of the valleys.
They lead to the settlement called Ar.
They lie along the border of Moab.”
16From there the Israelites continued on to Beer. That was the well where the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Gather the people together. I will give them water to drink.”
17Then Israel sang a song. They said,
“Spring up, you well!
Sing about it.
18Sing about the well the princes dug.
Sing about the well the nobles of the people dug.
All their rulers were holding their scepters and walking sticks.”
Then the Israelites went from the desert to Mattanah. 19They went from Mattanah to Nahaliel. They went from Nahaliel to Bamoth. 20And they went from Bamoth to a valley in Moab. It’s the valley where the highest slopes of Pisgah look out over a dry and empty land.
Israel Wins the Battle Over Sihon and Og
21The Israelites sent messengers to speak to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. The messengers said to him,
22“Let us pass through your country. We won’t go off the road into any field or vineyard. We won’t drink water from any well. We’ll travel along the King’s Highway. We’ll just go straight through your territory.”
23But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. He gathered his whole army together. Then he marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 24But Israel put him to death with their swords. They took over his land. They took everything from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. But they didn’t take over any of the land of the Ammonites. That’s because the Ammonites had built strong forts along their border. 25The Israelites captured all the cities of the Amorites. Then they settled down in them. They captured the city of Heshbon. They also captured all the settlements around it. 26Sihon, the king of the Amorites, ruled in Heshbon. He had fought against an earlier king of Moab. Sihon had taken from him all his land all the way to the Arnon River.
27That’s why the poets say,
“Come to Heshbon. Let it be built again.
Let Sihon’s city be made as good as new.
28“Fire went out from Heshbon.
A blaze went out from the city of Sihon.
It burned up Ar in Moab.
It burned up the citizens who lived on Arnon’s hills.
29Moab, how terrible it is for you!
People of Chemosh, you are destroyed!
Chemosh has deserted his sons and daughters.
His sons have run away from the battle.
His daughters have become prisoners.
He has handed all of them over to Sihon,
the king of the Amorites.
30“But we have taken them over.
Heshbon’s rule has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.
We have destroyed them as far as Nophah.
Nophah goes all the way to Medeba.”
31So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.
32Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer. The Israelites captured the settlements around it. They drove out the Amorites who were there. 33Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. Og was the king of Bashan. He and his whole army marched out. They went to fight against Israel at Edrei.
34The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of Og. I have handed him over to you. I have given you his whole army. I have also given you his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon.”
35So the Israelites struck down Og and his sons. And they wiped out his whole army. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They took over his land for themselves.
A Vitória sobre o Rei de Arade
1Quando o rei cananeu de Arade, que vivia no Neguebe, soube que Israel vinha pela estrada de Atarim, atacou os israelitas e capturou alguns deles. 2Então Israel fez este voto ao Senhor: “Se entregares este povo em nossas mãos, destruiremos totalmente as suas cidades”. 3O Senhor ouviu o pedido de Israel e lhes entregou os cananeus. Israel os destruiu completamente, a eles e às suas cidades; de modo que o lugar foi chamado Hormá.
A Serpente de Bronze
4Partiram eles do monte Hor pelo caminho do mar Vermelho, para contornarem a terra de Edom. Mas o povo ficou impaciente no caminho 5e falou contra Deus e contra Moisés, dizendo: “Por que vocês nos tiraram do Egito para morrermos no deserto? Não há pão! Não há água! E nós detestamos esta comida miserável!”
6Então o Senhor enviou serpentes venenosas que morderam o povo, e muitos morreram. 7O povo foi a Moisés e disse: “Pecamos quando falamos contra o Senhor e contra você. Ore pedindo ao Senhor que tire as serpentes do meio de nós”. E Moisés orou pelo povo.
8O Senhor disse a Moisés: “Faça uma serpente e coloque-a no alto de um poste; quem for mordido e olhar para ela viverá”.
9Moisés fez então uma serpente de bronze e a colocou num poste. Quando alguém era mordido por uma serpente e olhava para a serpente de bronze, permanecia vivo.
A Viagem para Moabe
10Os israelitas partiram e acamparam em Obote. 11Depois partiram de Obote e acamparam em Ijé-Abarim, no deserto defronte de Moabe, ao leste. 12Dali partiram e acamparam no vale de Zerede. 13Partiram dali e acamparam do outro lado do Arnom, que fica no deserto que se estende até o território amorreu. O Arnom é a fronteira de Moabe, entre Moabe e os amorreus. 14É por isso que se diz no Livro das Guerras do Senhor:
“…Vaebe, em Sufá, e os vales,
o Arnom 15e as ravinas dos vales
que se estendem até a cidade de Ar
e chegam até a fronteira de Moabe”.
16De lá prosseguiram até Beer, o poço onde o Senhor disse a Moisés: “Reúna o povo, e eu lhe darei água”.
17Então Israel cantou esta canção:
“Brote água, ó poço!
Cantem a seu respeito,
18a respeito do poço
que os líderes cavaram,
que os nobres abriram com cetros e cajados”.
Então saíram do deserto para Mataná, 19de Mataná para Naaliel, de Naaliel para Bamote, 20e de Bamote para o vale de Moabe, onde o topo do Pisga defronta com o deserto de Jesimom.
A Vitória sobre Seom e Ogue
21Israel enviou mensageiros para dizer a Seom, rei dos amorreus:
22“Deixa-nos atravessar a tua terra. Não entraremos em nenhuma plantação, em nenhuma vinha, nem beberemos água de poço algum. Passaremos pela estrada do rei até que tenhamos atravessado o teu território”.
23Seom, porém, não deixou Israel atravessar o seu território. Convocou todo o seu exército e atacou Israel no deserto. Quando chegou a Jaza, lutou contra Israel. 24Porém Israel o destruiu com a espada e tomou-lhe as terras desde o Arnom até o Jaboque, até o território dos amonitas, pois Jazar estava na fronteira dos amonitas. 25Israel capturou todas as cidades dos amorreus e as ocupou, inclusive Hesbom e todos os seus povoados. 26Hesbom era a cidade de Seom, rei dos amorreus, que havia lutado contra o antigo rei de Moabe, tendo tomado todas as suas terras até o Arnom.
27É por isso que os poetas dizem:
“Venham a Hesbom!
Seja ela reconstruída;
seja restaurada a cidade de Seom!
28“Fogo saiu de Hesbom,
uma chama da cidade de Seom;
consumiu Ar, de Moabe,
os senhores do alto Arnom.
29Ai de você, Moabe!
Você está destruído, ó povo de Camos!
Ele fez de seus filhos, fugitivos,
e de suas filhas, prisioneiras de Seom, rei dos amorreus.
30“Mas nós os derrotamos;
Hesbom está destruída por todo o caminho até Dibom.
Nós os arrasamos até Nofá, e até Medeba”.
31Assim Israel habitou na terra dos amorreus.
32Moisés enviou espiões a Jazar, e os israelitas tomaram os povoados ao redor e expulsaram os amorreus que ali estavam. 33Depois voltaram e subiram pelo caminho de Basã, e Ogue, rei de Basã, com todo o seu exército, marchou para enfrentá-los em Edrei.
34Mas o Senhor disse a Moisés: “Não tenha medo dele, pois eu o entreguei a você, juntamente com todo o seu exército e com a sua terra. Você fará com ele o que fez com Seom, rei dos amorreus, que habitava em Hesbom”.
35Então eles o derrotaram, bem como os seus filhos e todo o seu exército, não lhes deixando sobrevivente algum. E tomaram posse da terra dele.
