2. until the Lord said:Moses,
3. Israel has wandered in these hills long enough. Turn and go north.
4. And give the people these orders: “Be very careful, because you will soon go through the land that belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau. They are afraid of you,
5. but don't start a war with them. I have given them the hill country of Seir, so I won't give any of it to you, not even enough to set a foot on.
6. And as you go through their land, you will have to buy food and water from them.”
7. The Lord has helped us and taken care of us during the past forty years that we have been in this huge desert. We've had everything we needed, and the Lord has blessed us and made us successful in whatever we have done.
8. We went past the territory that belonged to our relatives, the descendants of Esau. We followed Arabah Road that starts in the south at Elath and Ezion-Geber, then we turned on to the desert road that leads to Moab.
9. The Lord told me, “Don't try to start a war with Moab. Leave them alone, because I gave the land of Ar to them, and I will not let you have any of it.”
15-16. The Lord kept getting rid of them until finally none of them were left.
17. Then the Lord told me,
18. “Moses, now go past the town of Ar and cross Moab's northern border
19. into Ammon. But don't start a war with the Ammonites. I gave them their land, and I won't give any of it to Israel.”
20. Before the Ammonites conquered the land that the Lord had given them, some of the Rephaim used to live there, although the Ammonites called them Zamzummim.
21. The Zamzummim were a large and powerful tribe and were as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord helped the Ammonites, and they killed many of the Zamzummim and forced the rest to leave. Then the Ammonites settled there.
22. The Lord helped them as he had helped the Edomites, who killed many of the Horites in Seir and forced the rest to leave before settling there themselves.
23. A group called the Avvim used to live in villages as far south as Gaza, but the Philistines killed them and settled on their land.