18. Great men dug this well. Important leaders dug this well. They dug this well with their staffs and walking sticks. It is a gift in the desert.”
19. The people traveled from Mattanah to Nahaliel. Then they traveled from Nahaliel to Bamoth.
20. They traveled from Bamoth to the Valley of Moab. In this place the top of the Pisgah Mountain looks over the desert.
21. The Israelites sent some men to King Sihon of the Amorites. The men said to the king,
22. “Allow us to travel through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard. We will not drink water from any of your wells. We will travel only along King’s Road. We will stay on that road until we have traveled through your country.”
23. But King Sihon would not allow the Israelites to travel through his country. He gathered together his army and marched out to the desert to fight against the Israelites. The king’s army fought against the Israelites at Jahaz.
24. But the Israelites defeated the king and took his land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. The Israelites took the land as far as the Ammonite border. They stopped at that border because it was strongly defended by the Ammonites.
25. Israel took all the Amorite cities and began living in them. They even defeated the city of Heshbon and all the small towns around it.
26. Heshbon was the city where Sihon, the Amorite king, lived. In the past Sihon had fought with the king of Moab. Sihon had taken the land as far as the Arnon River.
27. That is why the singers sing this song: “Go in and rebuild Heshbon! Make Sihon’s city strong.
28. A fire began in Heshbon. That fire began in Sihon’s city. The fire destroyed Ar in Moab. It burned the hills above Arnon River.
29. It is bad for you, Moab. You lost Chemosh’s people. His sons ran away. His daughters were taken prisoners by Sihon, king of the Amorites.
30. But we defeated those Amorites. We destroyed their towns from Heshbon to Dibon, from Nashim to Nophah, near Medeba.”
31. So the Israelites made their camp in the land of the Amorites.
32. Moses sent some men to look at the town of Jazer. Then the Israelites captured that town and the small towns that were around it. They forced the Amorites who were living there to leave.
33. Then the Israelites traveled on the road toward Bashan. King Og of Bashan got his army and marched out to meet the Israelites. He fought against them at Edrei.
34. But the Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of that king. I will allow you to defeat him. You will take his whole army and all his land. Do the same to him as you did to Sihon, the Amorite king who lived in Heshbon.”
35. So the Israelites defeated Og and his army. They killed him, his sons, and all his army. Then the Israelites took all his land.