Deuteronomy 2:15-25

15 whose hand was against them, (so) that they should perish from the midst of their tents.
16 Soothly after that all the fighters had fallen down, (And when all the fighting men had died,)
17 the Lord spake to me, and said,
18 Thou shalt pass today the coasts of Moab, (by) the city, Ar by name, (Today, thou shalt cross over the border of Moab, by the city of Ar,)
19 and thou shalt nigh into the coasts of the sons of Ammon; be thou ware that thou fight not against them, nor be moved to battle; for I shall not give to thee of the land of the sons of Ammon, for I have given it to the sons of Lot into possession. (and thou shalt come near to the land of the Ammonites; be thou careful that thou do not fight against them, nor go into battle with them; for I shall not give thee any of the land of the Ammonites, for I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.)
20 It is reckoned the land of giants, and giants inhabited therein sometime, which giants Ammonites call Zamzummims; (It is reckoned the land of giants, and giants lived there sometime ago, whom the Ammonites called the Zamzummims;)
21 a much people, and great, and of noble length, as Anakim, which the Lord did away from the face of them, and made them to dwell (there) for those giants, (a great and numerous people, and as tall as the Anakim, whom the Lord did away from there, and then allowed the Ammonites to live there instead of those giants,)
22 as he did to the sons of Esau, that dwelled in Seir, and did away Horims, and gave to them the land of Horims, which the sons of Esau wield till into present time. (as he did for the sons of Esau, who lived in Seir, for he did away the Horims, and gave the land of the Horims to the sons of Esau, which they possess unto this present time.)
23 Also men of Cappadocia putted out Avims, that dwelled in Hazerim, till to Gaza; which went out from Cappadocia, and did away Avims, and dwelled there for them. (And the men of Caphtor put out the Avims, who lived in Hazerim, unto Gaza; yea, they went out from Caphtor, and did away the Avims, and lived there in their place.)
24 Rise ye, and pass ye the strand of Arnon; lo! I have betaken in(to) thine hand Sihon, king of Heshbon, of Amorites; and his land begin thou to wield, and smite thou battle against him. (So rise ye up, and cross ye over the Arnon River; lo! I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, of the Amorites, and his land, into thy hands; now begin thou to possess it, and make thou battle against him.)
25 Today I shall begin to send thy dread, and thy fear into the peoples that dwell under all heaven (Today I shall begin to put the dread and the fear of thee into all the peoples who live under heaven), (so) that when thy name is heard, they dread, and tremble, by the manner of women travailing of child, and be holden with sorrow.

Deuteronomy 2:15-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 2

In this chapter Moses goes on with his account of the affairs of the people of Israel, and what befell them, how they turned into the wilderness again; but passes over in silence their travels there, till they came to Mount Self, where having been some time they were bid to depart, De 2:1-3, and were directed not to meddle with the Edomites, or take anything from them, but pay them for what they should have of them, since they lacked not, De 2:4-8, nor to distress the Moabites, of whose country, as formerly inhabited, and also of Edom, some account is given, De 2:9-12, when they were bid to go over the brook Zered, to which from their coming from Kadeshbarnea was the space of thirty eight years, in which time the former generation was consumed, De 2:13-16 and now passing along the borders of Moab, they were ordered not to meddle with nor distress the children of Ammon, of whose land also, and the former inhabitants of it, an account is given, De 2:17-23, then passing over the river Arnon, they are bid to fight with Sihon king of the Amorites, and possess his land, De 2:24,25 to whom they sent messengers, desiring leave to pass through his land, and to furnish them with provisions for their money, as the Edomites and Moabites had done, De 2:26-29 but he refusing, this gave them an opportunity to attack him, in which they succeeded, slew him and his people, and took possession of his country, De 2:30-37.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.