1
When the Canaanite, the king of aArad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive.
2
So aIsrael made a vow to the Lord and said, "If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities."
3
The Lord heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called aHormah.
4
Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to ago around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.
5
The people spoke against God and Moses, "aWhy have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and bwe loathe this miserable food."
6
aThe Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and bthey bit the people, so that cmany people of Israel died.
7
aSo the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; bintercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people.
8
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a afiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live."
9
And Moses made a abronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
10
aNow the sons of Israel moved out and camped in Oboth.
11
They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, to the east.
12
aFrom there they set out and camped in Wadi Zered.
13
From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites, afor the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14
Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.