3 Then we turned and went up on the road to Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan came out to confront us. He and all his people came for war at Edrei. 2 But the Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid of him, because I have given him into your hands, as well as all of his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” 3 So the Lord our God gave into our hands also Og king of Bashan and all his people. We struck them down until they had no survivor remaining.
4 So we took all of his cities at that time. There was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, the whole area of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All of these were fortified cities with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many small unwalled towns.[a] 6 We devoted them to destruction, just as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon. There was a total destruction of every city, of men, women, and children, 7 but all of the cattle and the plunder of the cities we took as spoils for ourselves.
8 So at that time we took the land out of the hands of the two kings of the Amorites who were east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Canyon to Mount Hermon. 9 (The Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, but the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We took all the cities of the tableland and all of Gilead and all of Bashan, up to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (Only Og king of Bashan had remained from what was left of the Rephaim. His bed,[b] a bed of iron, is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon? Its length is thirteen feet, and its width is six feet,[c] according to the standard measure.)
12 So we took possession of this land at that time. I gave to Reuben and to Gad the land starting at Aroer, which is at the Arnon Canyon, and half of the hill country[d] of Gilead, as well as its cities. 13 I gave to the half tribe of Manasseh the remainder of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, all the territory of Argob (all that part of Bashan is called the land of the Rephaim). 14 Jair, the descendant of Manasseh, took all the territory of Argob up to the border of the Geshurites and the Ma’acathites, and he named the villages of Bashan after himself, Havvoth Jair,[e] as they are called to this day. 15 I gave Gilead to Makir. 16 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave the land of Gilead from the Arnon Canyon (that is, from the middle of the canyon), which served as one of their borders, up to the Jabbok Canyon, which served as their border with the people of Ammon. 17 Also the Arabah and the Jordan served as their border from the Sea of Kinneret[f] to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Salt Sea,[g] under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.
18 I gave you a command at that time: “The Lord your God gave you this land as a possession. All of your soldiers, armed for battle, are to cross over before your brother Israelites. 19 Only your wives and your children and your livestock (I know that you have a lot of livestock) may stay in your cities that I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan. After that you may return, each man to his possession that I have given you.”
21 I also gave a command to Joshua at that time: “With your own eyes you have been observing everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms to which you are crossing. 22 Do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God himself is fighting for you.”
23 I also begged the favor of the Lord at that time: 24 “My Lord God, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand. Indeed, what god in heaven or on earth is there that has done anything like your works and your mighty deeds? 25 Let me cross over, please, and let me see the good land on the other side of the Jordan—this good hill country and the mountains of Lebanon.”
26 But the Lord was furious with me because of you, and he did not listen to me but said to me, “Enough from you! Do not continue to speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes toward the west and the north and the south and the east. Take a good look, because you will not be crossing over this Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua for duty and strengthen him and encourage him, because he will cross over in front of these people, and he will enable them to take possession of the land that you will only see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 3:5 The Hebrew word ‘ir, usually translated city, includes settlements smaller than what is usually denoted by the word cities. Here the Hebrew text specifies that the second category, translated small towns, are “country cities.”
- Deuteronomy 3:11 Or sarcophagus
- Deuteronomy 3:11 Nine cubits by four cubits
- Deuteronomy 3:12 The Hebrew is literally the mountain. The translation retains the traditional rendering hill country for the highland regions of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 3:14 Havvoth Jair means Villages of Jair.
- Deuteronomy 3:17 The Sea of Galilee
- Deuteronomy 3:17 The Dead Sea