16. “After they had all died,
17. the Lord said to us,
18. ‘Today you are to pass through the territory of Moab by way of Ar.
19. You will then be near the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. Don't trouble them or start a war against them, because I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given them.’ ”
20. (This territory is also known as the land of the Rephaim, the name of the people who used to live there; the Ammonites called them Zamzummim.
21. They were as tall as the Anakim. There were many of them, and they were a mighty race. But the Lord destroyed them, so that the Ammonites took over their land and settled there.
22. The Lord had done the same thing for the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in the hill country of Edom. He destroyed the Horites, so that the Edomites took over their land and settled there, where they still live.
23. The land along the Mediterranean coast had been settled by people from the island of Crete. They had destroyed the Avvim, the original inhabitants, and had taken over all their land as far south as the city of Gaza.)
24. “After we had passed through Moab, the Lord said to us, ‘Now, start out and cross the River Arnon. I am placing in your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, along with his land. Attack him, and begin occupying his land.
25. From today on I will make people everywhere afraid of you. Everyone will tremble with fear at the mention of your name.’
26. “Then I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with the following offer of peace:
27. ‘Let us pass through your country. We will go straight through and not leave the road.
28. We will pay for the food we eat and the water we drink. All we want to do is to pass through your country,
29. until we cross the River Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving us. The descendants of Esau, who live in Edom, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, allowed us to pass through their territory.’