1 When the Canaanite king of Arad who lived in the Negev heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
2 So Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into our hand, then we will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of the place was called Hormah.
4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom, but the people became impatient along the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is no bread or water, and we detest this worthless food.”
6 So the Lord sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he would take away the snakes from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous snake and set it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole, so that if a snake had bitten someone, when he looked at the bronze snake he lived.
10 The Israelites traveled on and camped in Oboth. 11 Then they traveled on from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that is before Moab on the eastern side. 12 From there they moved on and camped in the valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends from the regions of the Amorites, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 This is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah and the wadis,
the Arnon 15 and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the dwelling of Ar,
and falls off at the border of Moab.”
16 And from there they traveled to Beer; that is the well where the Lord spoke to Moses, “Gather the people and I will give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well, sing to it!
18 The well which the princes dug,
which the leaders of the people opened
with their scepters and their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah; 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the country of Moab, near the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the wastelands.
21 Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying,
22 “Let us pass through your land; we will not turn aside into the fields or into the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well, but we will go along the King’s Highway until we pass your borders.” 23 But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he gathered all his forces together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 24 But the Israelites defeated him in battle and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strongly defended. 25 So Israel took all these cities; and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. Now he had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land from his control, as far as the Arnon. 27 That is why those who speak in proverbs say,
“Come to Heshbon, let it be built.
Let the city of Sihon be established!
28 For fire went out from Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon.
It has consumed Ar of Moab
and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
29 Woe to you, Moab.
You are ruined, O people of Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.
30 We have overpowered them;
Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon.
We have shattered them as far as Nophah,
which reaches to Medeba.”
31 So the Israelites lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 Moses sent spies to reconnoiter Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.
33 Then they turned and went up by the road to Bashan. And King Og of Bashan and all his forces marched out against them to do battle at Edrei. 34 And the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand. You will do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” 35 So they defeated Og, his sons, and all his people, until there were no survivors, and they possessed his land.
1 O God, you have rejected us.
You suddenly turned on us in your anger.
Please restore us!
2 You made the earth quake; you split it open.
Repair its breaches, for it is ready to fall.
3 You have made your people experience hard times;
you have made us drink intoxicating wine.
4 You have given your loyal followers a rallying flag,
so that they might seek safety from the bow. (Selah)
5 Deliver by your power and answer me,
so that the ones you love may be safe.
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:
“I will triumph. I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.
7 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my royal scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin.
I will make Edom serve me.
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
9 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
11 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.
12 By God’s power we will conquer;
he will trample down our enemies.
1 O God, hear my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer.
2 From the remotest place on earth
I call out to you in my despair.
Lead me up to a rocky summit where I can be safe.
3 Indeed, you are my shelter,
a strong tower that protects me from the enemy.
4 I will be a permanent guest in your home;
I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. (Selah)
5 For you, O God, hear my vows;
you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers.
6 Give the king long life.
Make his lifetime span several generations.
7 May he reign forever before God.
Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him.
8 Then I will sing praises to your name continually,
as I fulfill my vows day after day.
5 “Beware, Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger,
a cudgel with which I angrily punish.
6 I sent him against a godless nation,
I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry,
to take plunder and to carry away loot,
to trample them down like dirt in the streets.
7 But he does not agree with this;
his mind does not reason this way,
for his goal is to destroy,
and to eliminate many nations.
8 Indeed, he says:
‘Are not my officials all kings?
9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish?
Hamath like Arpad?
Samaria like Damascus?
10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols,
whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s or Samaria’s.
11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,
so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.”
12 But when the Lord finishes judging Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then he will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. 13 For he says:
“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,
by my strategy that I devised.
I invaded the territory of nations,
and looted their storehouses.
Like a mighty conqueror, I brought down rulers.
14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,
as one gathers up abandoned eggs,
I gathered up the whole earth.
There was no wing flapping,
or open mouth chirping.”
15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,
or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it?
As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,
or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!
16 For this reason the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make his healthy ones emaciated.
His majestic glory will go up in smoke.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,
their Holy One will become a flame;
it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s briers
and his thorns in one day.
18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard
will be completely destroyed,
as when a sick man’s life ebbs away.
19 There will be so few trees left in his forest,
a child will be able to count them.
20 At that time those left in Israel, those who remain of the family of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. Instead they will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. Destruction has been decreed; just punishment is about to engulf you. 23 The Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land.
24 So here is what the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 25 For very soon my fury will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 26 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is about to beat them with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.
27 At that time
the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders,
and their yoke from your neck;
the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large.
28 They attacked Aiath,
moved through Migron,
depositing their supplies at Micmash.
29 They went through the pass,
spent the night at Geba.
Ramah trembled,
Gibeah of Saul ran away.
30 Shout out, daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah!
Answer her, Anathoth!
31 Madmenah flees,
the residents of Gebim have hidden.
32 This very day, standing in Nob,
they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain—
at the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Look, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies
is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power.
The tallest trees will be cut down,
the loftiest ones will be brought low.
34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,
and mighty Lebanon will fall.
1 Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? 2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; 3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.
4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. 5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”? 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” 7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. 12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge—the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 15 You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast about your arrogant plans. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.