Deuteronomy 2:1-11

1 And we went forth from thence, and came into the wilderness that leadeth to the Red Sea, as the Lord said to me; and we compassed the hill of Seir in long time. (And we went forth from there, and came to the wilderness that leadeth to the Red Sea, as the Lord said to me; and we marched around the hill country of Seir for a long time.)
2 And (then) the Lord said to me,
3 It sufficeth to you to compass this hill; go ye against the north. (It sufficeth for you to have gone around these hills long enough; now go ye to the north.)
4 And command thou to the people, and say, Ye shall pass by the terms of your brethren, the sons of Esau, that dwell in Seir, and they shall dread you. Therefore see ye diligently, (And command thou to the people, and say, Ye shall pass by the borders, or the territory, of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, and they shall fear you. And so see ye diligently,)
5 that ye be not moved against them; for I shall not give to you of their land as much as the step of one foot may tread, for I have given the hill of Seir into the possession of Esau. (that ye go not against them; for I shall not give you any of their land, not as much as the step of one foot can tread, for I have given the hill country of Seir to the sons of Esau for a possession.)
6 Ye shall buy of them meats for money, and ye shall eat; and ye shall draw, and drink water bought. (Ye shall buy food from them with your money, and then ye shall eat; and ye shall buy some water, and drink it.)
7 Thy Lord God hath blessed thee in all the works of thine hands; he hath known thy way, how thou hast passed this most wilderness, by forty years; and thy Lord God dwelled with thee, and nothing failed to thee. (The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hands; he hath known thy way, how thou hast passed through this great wilderness for forty years; and the Lord thy God hath been with thee, and thou hast lacked nothing.)
8 And when we had passed by our brethren, the sons of Esau, that dwelled in Seir, by the way of the field of Elath, and of Eziongaber, we came to the way that leadeth into the desert, (or the wilderness,) of Moab.
9 And the Lord said to me, Fight thou not against Moabites, neither begin thou battle against them; for I shall not give to thee anything of their land, for I have given Ar into possession to the sons of Lot (for I have given Ar to the sons of Lot for a possession).
10 Emim were the first dwellers thereof, a great people, and strong, and so high, (The Emims were the first inhabitants there, a great and strong people, and so tall,)
11 that they were believed to be as giants, of the generation of Anakim, and they were like the sons of Anakim; forsooth Moabites call them Emim (but the Moabites call them the Emims).

Deuteronomy 2:1-11 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.