📖 Deuteronomy — Chapter 2 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Deuteronomy 2:1 Then Rwe turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.
Deuteronomy 2:2 And the LORD spake unto me, saying,
Deuteronomy 2:3 Ye have compassed this mountain Rlong enough: turn you northward.
Deuteronomy 2:4 And command thou the people, saying, RYe are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:
Deuteronomy 2:5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, RTno, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
Deuteronomy 2:6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.
Deuteronomy 2:7 For the LORD thy God hath Rblessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
Deuteronomy 2:8 RAnd when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
Deuteronomy 2:9 And the LORD said unto me, RTDistress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Deuteronomy 2:10 The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;
Deuteronomy 2:11 Which also were accounted giants, Ras the Anakims; but the Moabites called them Emims.
Deuteronomy 2:12 The RHorims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau Tsucceeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in Ttheir stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.
Deuteronomy 2:13 Now rise up, said I, and Tget you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.
Deuteronomy 2:14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the Tbrook Zered, was thirty and eight years; Runtil all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.
Deuteronomy 2:15 For indeed Rthe hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.
Deuteronomy 2:16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
Deuteronomy 2:17 That the LORD spake unto me, saying,
Deuteronomy 2:18 RThou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:
Deuteronomy 2:19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Deuteronomy 2:20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them RTZamzummims;
Deuteronomy 2:21 A people Rgreat, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:
Deuteronomy 2:22 As he did to the children of REsau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:
Deuteronomy 2:23 And Rthe Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)
Deuteronomy 2:24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over Rthe river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: Tbegin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
Deuteronomy 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
Deuteronomy 2:26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of RKedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
Deuteronomy 2:27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
Deuteronomy 2:28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: Ronly I will pass through on my feet;
Deuteronomy 2:29 (RAs the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.
Deuteronomy 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: Rfor the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
Deuteronomy 2:31 And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to Rgive Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
Deuteronomy 2:32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
Deuteronomy 2:33 And Rthe LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
Deuteronomy 2:34 And we took all his cities at that time, and Rutterly destroyed Tthe men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:
Deuteronomy 2:35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
Deuteronomy 2:36 From RAroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:
Deuteronomy 2:37 Only Runto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 2:1–15 — Boundaries and the wilderness years
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Israel was told to respect the lands given to Esau's descendants and to Moab. Moses recalls both the LORD's provision and the long interval in which the former generation of fighting men passed away.
Key Truth: God's provision did not cancel Israel's responsibility to respect the boundaries he set.
Check What You Remember
1. What mountain had been given to Esau for a possession? (Deuteronomy 2:5)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:5 (KJV).
2. How many years had the LORD been with Israel without their lacking anything? (Deuteronomy 2:7)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:7 (KJV).
3. How many years passed from Kadeshbarnea to crossing the brook Zered? (Deuteronomy 2:14)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:14 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 2:16–25 — Ammon's territory and the coming battle
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The LORD forbids Israel to take Ammon's land, explaining that he had given it to Lot's descendants. The chapter then distinguishes that protected territory from Sihon's land, which Israel is commanded to possess.
Key Truth: God's commands distinguish restraint from the battles he authorizes.
Check What You Remember
1. Whose descendants had received Ammon's land? (Deuteronomy 2:19)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:19 (KJV).
2. What name did the Ammonites use for the giant people who had lived there? (Deuteronomy 2:20)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:20 (KJV).
3. Who was the king of Heshbon whom Israel was to encounter? (Deuteronomy 2:24)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:24 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 2:26–37 — Peace offered and Sihon defeated
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Moses sends Sihon an offer of peaceful passage, including payment for food and water. Sihon refuses and brings out his army; Israel defeats him, while leaving alone the places the LORD had forbidden them to take.
Key Truth: Victory does not authorize taking territory God has forbidden.
Check What You Remember
1. What road did Moses offer to follow through Sihon's land? (Deuteronomy 2:27)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:27 (KJV).
2. At what place did Sihon and his people come out to fight Israel? (Deuteronomy 2:32)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:32 (KJV).
3. Whose land did Israel avoid according to the LORD's command? (Deuteronomy 2:37)
Find it in Deuteronomy 2:37 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What common reason is given for protecting Moab’s and Ammon’s lands?
2. How does the command concerning Sihon differ from the command concerning Esau?
3. What does the thirty-eight-year interval mark in the account?
4. What restraint is included in Moses’ request to pass through Sihon’s land?
5. How does the victory account retain a limit on Israel’s advance?
Notes
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