Chapter 31

Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness, even the way to the red sea as the LORD commanded me. And we compassed the mountains of Seir a long time. Then the LORD spake unto me saying: Ye have compassed these mountains long enough, turn you northward. And warn the people saying: Ye shall go thorow the coasts of your brethren the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraid of you: But take good heed unto your selves that ye provoke them not, 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 to possess. Ye shall buy meat of them for money to eat, and ye shall buy water of them for money to drink. For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thine hand, and knew thee as thou wentest thorow this great wilderness. Moreover the LORD thy God hath been with thee this forty years, so that thou hast lacked nothing. And when we were departed from our brethren the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir by the field way from Elath and Ezion Gaber, we turned and went the way to the wilderness of Moab. Then the LORD said unto me: see that thou vex not the Moabites, neither provoke them to battle for I will not give thee of their land to possess: because I have given Ar unto the children of loth to possess. The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, many and tall, as the Enakims: which also were taken for giants as the Enakims: And the Moabites called them Emims. In like manner the Horims dwelt in Seir before time which the children of Esau cast out, and destroyed them before them and dwelt there in their stead: as Israel did in the land of his possession which the LORD gave them. Now rise up (said I) and get you over the river Zared: and we went over the river Zared. The space in which we came from Cades barne until we were come over the river Zared was thirty eight years: until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out of the host as the LORD sware unto them. For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them out of the host, till they were consumed. And as soon as all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, then the LORD spake unto me saying: Thou shalt go thorow Ar the coast of Moab this day, and shalt come nye unto the children of Ammon: see that thou vex them not, nor yet provoke them. For I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon to possess, because I have given it unto the children of Loth to possess. That also was taken for a land of giants and giants dwelt therein in old time, and the Ammonites called them Zamzumims. A people that was great, many and tall, as the Enakims. But the LORD destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they cast them out and they dwelt there in their stead: as he did for the children of Esau which dwell in Seir: even as he destroyed the Horims before them, and they cast them out and dwell in their stead unto this day. And the Avims which dwelt in Hazarim even unto Aza, the Caphthorims which came out of Caphthor destroyed them and dwelt in their rooms. Rise up, take your journey and go over the river Arnon. Behold, I have given into thy hand Sehon the Amorite king of Hesbon, and his land. Go to and conquer and provoke him to battle. This day I will begin to send the fear and dread of thee upon all nations that are under all ports of heaven: so that when they hear speak of thee, they shall tremble and quake for fear of thee. Then I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Hesbon, with words of peace saying: Let me go thorow thy land. I will go always along by the high way and will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left. Sell me meat for money for to eat, and give me drink for money for to drink: I will go thorow by foot only (as the children of Esau did unto me which dwell in Seir and the Moabites which dwell in Ar) until I be come over Iordan, into the land which the LORD our God giveth us. But Sihon the king of Hesbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD thy God had hardened his spirit and made his heart tough because he would deliver him into thy hands as it is come to pass this day. And the LORD said unto me: behold, I have begun to set Sihon and his land before thee: go to and conquer, that thou mayst possess his land. Then both Sihon and all his people came out against us unto battle at Iahab. And the LORD set him before us, and we smote him and his sons and all his people. And we took all his cities the same season, and destroyed all the cities with men, women, and children and let nothing remain, save the cattle only we caught unto our selves and the spoil of the cities which we took, from Aroer upon the brink of the river of Arnon, and the city in the river, unto Gilead: there was not one city too strong for us. The LORD our God delivered all unto us: only unto the land of the children of Ammon ye came not, nor {ner} unto all the coast of the river Iabock nor {ner} unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbade us.

Chapter .iij.

Then we turned and went up the way to Basan. And Og the king of Basan came out against us: both he and all his people to battle at Edrei. And the LORD said unto me: fear him not, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into thy hand and thou shalt deal with him as thou dealest with Sihon king of the Amorites which dwelt at Hesbon. And so the LORD our God delivered into our hands, Og also the king of Basan and all his folk. And we smote him until nought was left him. And we took all his cities the same season (for there was not a city which we took not from them) even three score cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Basan. All these cities were made strong with high walls, gates and bars, beside unwalled towns a great many. And we utterly destroyed them, as we played with Sihon king of Hesbon: bringing to nought all the cities with men, women and children. But all the cattle and the spoil of the cities, we caught for ourselves. And thus we took the same season, the land out of the hand of two kings of the Amorites on the other side Iordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon (which Hermon the Sidons call Sirion, but the Amorites call it Senir) all the cities in the plain and all Gilead and all Basan unto Salcha and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Basan. For only Og king of Basan remained of the remnant of the giants: behold, his iron bed is yet at Rabath among the children of Ammon nine cubits long and, four cubits broad, of the cubits of a man. And when we had conquered this land the same time, I gave from Aroer which is upon the river of Arnon, and half mount Gilead and the cities thereof unto the Rubenites, and Gadites. And the rest of Gilead and all Basan the kingdom of Og, I gave unto the half tribe of Manasse: all the region of Argob with all Basan was called the land of giants. Iair the son of Manasse took all the region of Argob unto the coasts of Gesuri and Maachati, and called the towns of Basan after his own name: the towns of [Havoth] Iair unto this day. And I gave half Gilead unto Machir. And unto Ruben and Gad, I gave from Gilead unto the river of Arnon and half the valley and the coast, even unto the river Iabock which is the border of the children of Ammon, and the fields and Iordan with the coast, from Cenereth even unto the sea in the field which is the salt sea under the springs of Pisga eastward. And I commanded you the same time (ye Ruben and Gad) saying: the LORD your God hath given you this land to enjoy it: see that ye go harnessed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are men of war among you. Your wives only, your children and your cattle (for I wot that ye have much cattle) shall abide in your cities which I have given you, until the LORD have given rest unto your brethren as well as unto you, and until they also have conquered the land which the LORD your God hath given them beyond Iordan: and then return again every man unto his possession which I have given you. And I warned Iosua the same time saying: thine eyes have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto these two kings, even so the LORD will do unto all kingdoms whither thou goest. Fear them not, for the LORD your God he it is that fighteth for you. And I besought the LORD the same time saying: O Lord Iehoua, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand, for there is no God in heaven nor in earth that can do after thy works and after thy power: let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Iordan, that goodly high country and Libanon. But the LORD was angry with me for your sakes and would not hear me, but said unto me, be content, and speak henceforth no more unto me of this matter; Get thee up into the top of Pisga and lift up thine eyes west, north, south and east, and behold it with thine eyes for thou shalt not go over this Iordan. Moreover, charge Iosua and courage him and bold him. For he shall go over before his people, and he shall divide the land which thou shalt see unto them. And so we abode in the valley beside Beth Peor.

Chapter .iiij.

And now hearken Israel unto the ordinances and laws which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live and go and conquer the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall put nothing unto the word which I command you neither do ought therefrom, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did unto Baal Peor: for all the men that followed Baal Peor, the LORD your God hath destroyed from among you. But ye that clave unto the LORD your God, are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I have taught you ordinances and laws, such as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do even so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep them therefore and do them, for that is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations: which when they have heard all these ordinances, shall say: O what a wise and understanding people is this great nation. For what nation is so great that hath Gods {Goddes} so nye unto him: as the LORD our God is nye unto us, in all things, when we call unto him? Yea, and what nation is so great that hath ordinances and laws so righteous, as all this law which I set before you this day. Take heed to thy self therefore only and keep thy soul diligently, that thou forget not the things which thine eyes have seen, and that they depart not out of thine heart, all the days of thine life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons son's. The day that I stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when he said unto me, gather me the people together, that I may make them hear my words that they may learn to fear me as long as they live upon the earth and that they may teach their children: ye came and stood also under the hill, and the hill burnt with fire: even unto the midst of heaven, and there was darkness, clouds and mist. And the LORD spake unto you out of the fire and ye heard the voice of the words: But saw no image, save heard a voice only. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to do, even ten verses and wrote them in two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me the same season to teach you ordinances and laws, for to do them in the land whither ye go to possess it. Take heed unto yourselves diligently as pertaining unto your souls, for ye saw no manner of image the day when the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the fire: lest ye mar yourselves and make you graven images after whatsoever likeness it be: whether after the likeness of man or woman or any manner beast that is on the earth or of any manner feathered fowl that flyeth in the air, or of any manner worm that creepeth on the earth or of any manner fish that is in the water beneath the earth: Yea and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the son and the moon and the stars and whatsoever is contained in heaven, shouldest be deceived and shouldest bow thyself unto them and serve the things which the LORD thy God hath distributed unto all nations that are under all quarters of heaven. For the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron furnace of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as it is come to pass this day. Furthermore, the LORD was angry with me for your sakes and sware, that I should not go over Iordan and that I should not go unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inheritance. For I must die in this land, and shall not go over Iordan: But ye shall go over and conquer that good land. Take heed unto yourselves therefore, that ye forget not the appointment of the LORD your God which he made with you, and that ye make you no graven image of whatsoever it be that the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, and a jealous God. If after thou hast gotten children and children's children and hast dwelt long in the land, ye shall mar yourselves and make graven images after the likeness of whatsoever it be, and shall work wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him. I call heaven and earth to record unto you this day, that ye shall shortly perish from off the land whither ye go over Iordan to possess it: Ye shall not prolong your days therein, but shall shortly be destroyed. And the LORD shall scatter you among nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the people whither the LORD shall bring you: and there ye shall serve gods which are the works of man's hand, wood and stone which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. Neverthelater ye shall seek the LORD your God even there, and shalt find him if thou seek him with all thine heart and with all thy soul. In thy tribulation and when all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, thou shalt turn unto the LORD thy God, and shalt hearken unto his voice. For the LORD thy God is a pitiful God: he will not forsake thee neither destroy thee, nor forget the appointment made with thy fathers which he sware unto them. For ask I pray thee of the days that are past which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth and from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether anything hath been like unto this great thing or whether any such thing hath been heard as it is, that a nation hath heard the voice of God speaking out of fire as thou hast heard, and yet lived? either whether God assayed to go and take him a people from among nations, thorow temptations and signs and wonders and thorow war and with a mighty hand and a stretched out arm and with mighty terrible sights, according unto all that the LORD your God did unto you in Egypt before your eyes. Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know, how that the LORD he is God and that there is none but he. Out of heaven he made thee hear his voice to nurture thee, and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire, and thou heardest his words out of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them and brought thee out with his presence and with his mighty power of Egypt: to thrust out nations greater and mightier than thou before thee, to bring thee in and to give thee their land to inheritance: as it is come to pass this day. Understand therefore this day and turn it to thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath, there is no more: keep therefore his ordinances, and his commandments which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee and with thy children after thee and that thou mayst prolong thy days upon the earth which the LORD thy God giveth thee for ever. {thy life long.} Then Moses severed three cities on the other side Iordan toward the son rising, that he should flee thither which had killed his neighbour unwares and hated him not in time past, and therefore should flee unto one of the same cities and live: Bezer in the wilderness even in the plain country among the Rubenites: and Ramoth in Gilead among the Gadites and Solan in Basan among the Manassites. This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel, and these are the witness, ordinances and statutes which Moses told the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, on the other side Iordan in the valley beside Beth Peor in the land of Sehon king of the Amorites which dwelt at Hesbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote after they were come out of Egypt, and conquered his land and the land of Og king of Basan two kings of the Amorites on the other side Iordan toward the son rising: from Aroer upon the bank of the river Arnon, unto mount Sion which is called Hermon and all the fields on the other side Iordan eastward: even unto the sea in the field under the springs of Pisga.

Chapter .v.

And Moses called unto all Israel and said unto them: Hear Israel the ordinances and laws which I speak in thine ears this day, and learn them and take heed that ye do them. The LORD {Loode} our God made an appointment with us in Horeb. The LORD made not this bond with our fathers, but with us: we are they, which are all here alive this day. The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the fire. And I stood between the LORD and you the same time, to shew you the saying of the LORD. For ye were afraid of the fire and therefore went not up into the mount and he said. I am the LORD thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt the house of bondage. Thou shalt have therefore none other gods in my presence. Thou shalt make thee no graven Image of any manner likeness that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water beneath the earth. Thou shalt neither bow thyself unto them nor serve them, for I the LORD thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the wickedness of the fathers upon the children, even in the third and the fourth generation, among them that hate me: and shew mercy upon thousands among them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain. Keep the Sabbath day that thou sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour and do all that thou hast to do, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no manner work, neither thou nor thy son nor thy daughter nor thy servant nor thy maid nor thine ox nor thine ass nor any of thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy city, that thy servant and thy maid may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt and how that the LORD God, brought thee out thence with a mighty hand and a stretched out arm. For which cause the LORD thy God commandeth thee to keep the Sabbath day. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: that thou mayst prolong thy days, and that it may go well with thee on the land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not slee. Thou shalt not break wedlock. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not lust after thy neighbour's wife: thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, field, servant, maid, ox, ass nor ought that is thy neighbour's. These words the LORD spake unto all your multitude in the mount out of the fire, cloud and darkness, with a loud voice, and added no more thereto, and wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered them unto me. But as soon as ye heard the voice out of the darkness and saw the hill burn with fire, ye came unto me all the heads of your tribes and your elders: and ye said: behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the fire, and we have seen this day that God may talk with a man and he yet live. And now wherefore should we die that this great fire should consume us: If we should hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we should die. For what is any flesh that he should hear the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire as we have done and should yet live: Go thou and hear all that the LORD our God sayeth, and tell thou unto us all that the LORD our God sayeth unto thee, and we will hear it and do it. And the LORD heard the voice of your words when ye spake unto me, and he said unto me: I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoke unto thee, they have well said all that they have said. Oh that they had such an heart with them to fear me and keep all my commandments alway, that it might go well with them and with their children for ever. Go and say unto them: get you into your tents again, but stond thou here before me and I will tell thee all the commandments, ordinances and laws which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess. Take heed therefore that ye do as the LORD your God hath commanded you, and turn not aside: either to the right hand or to the left: but walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live and that it may go well with you and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

Chapter .vi.