Deuteronomy 2:31

31 And the Lord said to me, Lo, I have begun to betake to thee Sihon, and his land; begin thou to wield it. (And the Lord said to me, Lo! I have now begun to deliver unto thee Sihon, and his land; begin thou to possess it.)

Deuteronomy 2:31 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 2:31

And the Lord said unto me
After or about the time when the messengers were sent to Sihon, perhaps when they had returned and had brought his answer:

behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee;
by hardening his heart, which was a sure token of his ruin, and a leading step to the delivery of him into the hands of Israel:

begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land;
move towards it and enter into it, not fearing any opposition made by him.

Deuteronomy 2:31 In-Context

29 as the sons of Esau did, that dwell in Seir, and the Moabites, that dwell in Ar, till we come to (the) Jordan, and pass to the land which our Lord God shall give to us. (as the sons of Esau did, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, until we come to the Jordan River, and then cross over to the land which the Lord our God shall give to us.)

30 And Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not give passage to us; for thy Lord God made hard his spirit, and made firm in evil the heart of him, that he should be betaken into thine hands, as thou seest now. (But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, would not grant us passage; for the Lord thy God made his spirit hard, and his heart firm in evil, so that he would be delivered into thy hands, as thou now seest that he is.)

31 And the Lord said to me, Lo, I have begun to betake to thee Sihon, and his land; begin thou to wield it. (And the Lord said to me, Lo! I have now begun to deliver unto thee Sihon, and his land; begin thou to possess it.)

32 And Sihon went out against us with all his people, to battle in Jahaz (to do battle at Jahaz).

33 And our Lord God betook him to us, and we have smitten him (and we struck him down), with his sons, and all his people.