The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years: until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the middle of the camp, as Yahweh swore to them. Moreover Yahweh’s hand was against them, to destroy them from the middle of the camp, until they were consumed. So, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
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Deuteronomy 2:14-17 sits inside this longer paragraph.
The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years: until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the middle of the camp, as Yahweh swore to them. Moreover Yahweh’s hand was against them, to destroy them from the middle of the camp, until they were consumed. So, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, Yahweh spoke to me, saying, “You are to pass over Ar, the border of Moab, today. When you come near the border of the children of Ammon, don’t bother them, nor contend with them; for I will not give you any of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.”
Parallel Translations
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The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years: until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the middle of the camp, as Yahweh swore to them.
Moreover Yahweh’s hand was against them, to destroy them from the middle of the camp, until they were consumed.
So, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
-
And the space in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.
For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.
So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
That the LORD spake unto me, saying,
Show all 3 translations
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And the days in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, were thirty and eight years; until all the generation, even the men of war, were consumed from the midst of the camp, as the LORD swore unto them.
Moreover the hand of the LORD was against them, to discomfit them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed.
So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
that the LORD spoke unto me saying:
Cross-references (27)
- Numbers 14:28-35 (v14) Tell them, ‘As I live, says Yahweh, surely as you have spoken in my ears, so I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this…
- Numbers 26:64-65 (v14) But among these there was not a man of them who were counted by Moses and Aaron the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the…
- Deuteronomy 1:34-35 (v14) Yahweh heard the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying, “Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the…
- Psalms 95:11 (v14) Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They won’t enter into my rest.”
- Ezekiel 20:15 (v14) Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and…
Show all 25 cross-references
- Psalms 106:26 (vv14–15) Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
- Numbers 13:26 (v14) They went and came to Moses, to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and…
- Deuteronomy 1:2 (v14) It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.
- Deuteronomy 1:19 (v14) We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the…
- Hebrews 3:8-19 (v14) don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me and tried…
- 1 Corinthians 10:5 (vv14–15) However with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
- Numbers 32:11 (v14) ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac,…
- Deuteronomy 1:46 (v14) So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained.
- Judges 2:15 (v15) Wherever they went out, Yahweh’s hand was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them; and they were very…
- 1 Samuel 5:6 (v15) But Yahweh’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
- 1 Samuel 5:9 (v15) It was so, that after they had carried it there, Yahweh’s hand was against the city with a very great confusion; and he struck the men of…
- 1 Samuel 5:11 (v15) They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the ark of the God of Israel away, and let…
- 1 Samuel 7:13 (v15) So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped coming within the border of Israel. Yahweh’s hand was against the Philistines all the…
- Psalms 32:4 (v15) For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer.
- Psalms 78:33 (v15) Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.
- Psalms 90:3 (v14) You turn man to destruction, saying, “Return, you children of men.”
- Psalms 90:7-9 (v15) For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of…
- Psalms 90:9 (v14) For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh.
- Isaiah 66:14 (v15) You will see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones will flourish like the tender grass. Yahweh’s hand will be known among his…
- Jude 1:5 (v14) Now I desire to remind you, though you already know this, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward…
25 distinct cross-references across this passage (27 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14–15 He showeth hereby, that as God is true in…
He showeth hereby, that as God is true in his promise, so his threatenings are not in vain.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v14 Deu 2:14 And the space in which we came…
Deu 2:14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, [was] thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.
Ver. 14. As the Lord sware.] His menaces also, as well as his promises, are confirmed by oath. Let no man, therefore, think that they are spoken in terrorem only; but read Zep 3:5.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–17 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea,....…
And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea,.... The space of time; or, "the days" (b); the number of them:
until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; that is, from the time that the spies were sent and searched the land, and brought a report of it; for they were sent from Kadeshbarnea, Num 32:8 unto the passage of the Israelites over Zered, were thirty eight years; so long they had been travelling in the wilderness, after they were come to the borders of the land:
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until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host; all that were twenty years old and upwards, and fit to go out to war upon occasion, when the people were first numbered after they came out of Egypt; all that generation was now consumed within the above space of time, excepting two, Caleb and Joshua:
as the Lord sware unto them; Num 14:21.
(b) "et dies", Montanus; "dies autem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v16 Deu 2:16-17. When all the men of war were…
Deu 2:16-17. When all the men of war were consumed — Israel is not called to march against and attack the Canaanites till the men most fit for war, and who probably had learned the art of it in Egypt, and had been used to hardship, were all wasted and dead from among the people, and only a host of new raised men, trained up in a wilderness, were left, in whom, as being possessed of little knowledge, experience, or natural fortitude, no great dependance could be placed. Thus it became more fully manifest that the excellency of the power which subdued the warlike Canaanites, was of God and not of man. On the same principle, and with the same design, long after this, were the following words spoken by the Lord to Gideon: The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. And thus, to subdue the enemies of God’s church, and bring sinners to the obedience of the faith, he hath chosen the weak things of the world, and things that are despised, and things that are not, to bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh may glory in his presence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v14 Years. They had continued another year at Sinai, and…
Years. They had continued another year at Sinai, and some months at least at Cades-barne; so that the few remaining months of the 40 years’ sojournment, were spent in conquering the kingdoms east of the Jordan. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v16 all the men of war were consumed and dead…
all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people--The outbreak at Kadesh on the false report of the spies had been the occasion of the fatal decree by which God doomed the whole grown-up population to die in the wilderness [Num 14:29]; but that outbreak only filled up the measure of their iniquities. For that generation, though not universally abandoned to heathenish and idolatrous practices, yet had all along displayed a fearful amount of ungodliness in the desert, which this history only hints at obscurely, but which is expressly asserted elsewhere (Eze 20:25-26; Amo 5:25, Amo 5:27; Act 7:42-43).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. Zered — According to Num_21:12, the Israelites had…
14. Zered — According to Num_21:12, the Israelites had encamped in the valley of Zered, (or, as there spelled, Zared).
Thirty and eight years — These were years of wandering since they first left Kadesh, on the south of the Promised Land. All the men of war who left Egypt, except Caleb and Joshua, have passed away. The sentence pronounced upon them on account of their rebellion has been executed.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. thirty and eight years] See above, introd. to…
14. thirty and eight years] See above, introd. to Deu_2:1-8 a.
until all the generation of the men of war were consumed] See Deu_1:35; Deu_1:39.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–15 (14) Until we were come over the brook Zered.—The…
(14) Until we were come over the brook Zered.—The root zârad in Chaldee means to prune. The name “Zered” signifies the luxuriant foliage and the young shoots, especially of the willow, which are cut off with the knife: so the Targum takes it (Num_21:12). Probably the valley was so named from the “willows of the brook” which grew there. But it was the “valley of pruning” to the “vine” which God had “brought out of Egypt” in another sense. The last of the fruitless branches was here taken away, and the vine “purged, that it might bring forth more fruit.”
Thirty and eight years; until all . . . men of war were wasted out from among the host.—The census did not take place until some months later. A plague intervened, which cut off twenty-four thousand. The observation that at the brook Zered all the men of the older generation were “wasted out of the host” indicates an intimate knowledge of the incidents of the exodus. But it is quite natural to suppose that, as the survivors of that generation became fewer, those who remained would become marked men. Every man of the twelve tribes (excluding Levi? ) who passed the census at Sinai was doomed. The fortieth year of the exodus had more than half expired when they came to the brook Zered. All who remained alive in that year knew that they had a short time to live. Probably more notice was taken of the last few deaths than of all the rest of the six hundred thousand put together.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Men of war; those of age sufficient to go…
Men of war; those of age sufficient to go forth to war, viz. twenty years old and upwards. (Num_1:3 Num_14:29) These, as the responsible transgressors, all perished; the whole generation passed away, and was consumed; (To cf. Deu_5:15; Psa_73:19) as God had sworn. (Num_14:28, Num_14:29)
Vers. 14, 15. Dying out.
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These thirty-eight years form a melancholy parenthesis in the history of Israel. A death-silence reigns in the narrative in regard to them. The ninetieth Psalm is apparently a memorial of them the dirge of Moses over the fallen. One or two incidents, and a few laws in Numbers may belong to this period; otherwise we have only these brief epitaph verses. As here described, they form a fitting image of godless existence generally.
I IN ITS WAST OF HISTORY. History is meant to preserve that which is of permanent worth. The unessential, the evanescent, are not held deserving of its record. But from the spiritual standpoint there is no life of permanent worth but that which is lived in God and for his glory. Relatively to this world, the godless man may have a history; but relatively to eternity, he has lived to no end which ensures his being held in remembrance. He will be forgotten, and his life be a blank in the records which alone will interest a heavenly society.
II IN ITS ESSENTIAL UNPROFITABLENESS.
1. It is without proper purpose. That thirty-eight years was one of purposeless existence. It had no right end. Men might engage in various pursuits, but their existence as a whole had lost its value. They were there but to draw out their profitless days till death came to end the scene. The godless man is in the same position his existence as a whole has no proper end, and he is made to feel this the more keenly the longer he lives.
2. It is without proper joy. There could be no true joy in men"s hearts during that wretched time of waiting for the grave. Is there any in the life of the worldling, or of any ungodly man? Ask Byron, Goethe, Rousseau, or whoever else has given confessions on the subject, and we will need no other witness.
3. It is without hope. For what is there to give it?
III IN ITS BEING SPENT UNDER GOD"S WRATH. The feeling that it is so darkens life, troubles conscience, makes death terrible, and awakens fearful and well-founded presentiments of future evil. J.O.
Vers. 14-18. The wasting of the warriors.
There was evidently a considerable knowledge of the art of war" in the Israelitish host on leaving Egypt. Moses was versed in it, as in so much more, and the mixed multitude which accompanied the exodus would also contain men skilled in arms. And experience of opposition on the part of Amalek, etc., would elicit a martial spirit throughout the host. Moreover, the presence of seasoned men, or veterans," gives confidence to young troops in actual conflict. The world would say," By all means retain the veterans for the purpose of invasion." Yet, strange to say, God kept the host wandering till the warriors were all weeded out, and buried in the wilderness. The invasion is to be made by the rising generation, which had never seen the military art or reviews in Egypt. From this we learn
I THAT GOD"S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS, NOR HIS THOUGHTS OUR THOUGHTS. In fact, his plans are often constructed so as to baffle worldly wisdom. We see this in this invasion of Canaan; we see it in his way of salvation by Jesus Christ; we see it in his providential dealings.
II THE ART OF WAR IS NOT SO IMPORTANT AS THE ART OF FAITH. The experience of the veterans was as nothing in comparison with the courageous faith in God. This made heroes of the children who would, they thought, be a prey. All wisdom of man becomes vain when unsustained by confidence in God.
III SOLDIERS" GRAVES HAVE OFTENTIMES BEEN THE MELANCHOLY CONDITION OF SUCCESS. It was really after sacrifice, the sacrifice of the whole fighting army of Israel, that success came. There grew out of their graves warning and inspiration. And it has been over the graves of soldiers that almost every progress of the world has been made. Multitudes had to be buried on the battle-fields before the Promised Land of peace could be entered. The buried warriors constituted the holocaust which was presented before the blessing came.
IV THE DESTRUCTION OF FALSE TRUSTS IS OFTEN THE PREPARATION FOR TRUE ONES. The temptation to trust in the veterans and their military ideas is taken away by the death of the warriors. So is it that God removes from us every false refuge. Thus we learn to trust in the living God, and to fight his battles in his own way. Providence is oftentimes just the removal of the warriors who were so wise in their own eyes and so able to take the best course, that the people may follow the Lord only.
Happy for each soul it is to be deprived of every false support, and to be led to trust Christ alone! Into real rest the soul enters by faith the Promised Land lies open to the trustful soul, while its gates are closed against the self-confident ones. R.M.E.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v16 The Defeat of Sihon
The Defeat of Sihon
v. 16. So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, the punishment of God having struck them according to His word,
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v. 17. that the Lord spake unto me, saying,
v. 18. Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day;
v. 19. and when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, whose territory was chiefly east and northeast of that of the Amorites, distress them not, nor meddle with them, assume no hostile attitude nor make a show of attacking 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, for the Ammonites were descendants of Lot, Gen 19:38.
v. 20. (That also was accounted a land of giants before its occupation by the children of Ammon; giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, literally, "a humming, noisy people," possibly the same as the Zusim, Gen 14:5, or related to them;
v. 21. a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, the Ammonites, His object being to lead the latter to repentance, to cause them to seek the true God, the tradition of whom was handed down to them from their fathers, and they succeeded them and dwelt in their stead,
v. 22. as He did to the children of Esau, 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;
v. 23. and the Avims, which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, in the southwestern corner of Canaan, the Caphtorim, which came forth out of Caphtor, and bore the name of their progenitor, Gen 10:14, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead. ) This notice having been inserted for the sake of orientation, Moses continues his address proper.
v. 24. Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon, the southern boundary of the land of the Amorites; behold, I have given in to thine hand Sihon, the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, in modern English, go ahead and take it, and contend with him in battle.
v. 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, not only the Canaanites, but all the other nations whom the news of their advance would reach, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
v. 26. And I sent messengers out of the Wilderness of Kedemoth, on the southeastern boundary of the Amorite territory, where there was an easy passage over the Arnon, unto Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, in order to give him an opportunity to decide for himself and to avoid an offense against Jehovah, saying,
v. 27. Let me pass through thy land. I will go along by the highway; I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left. Cf Num 21:21-22.
v. 28. Thou shalt sell me meat, food, for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; only I will pass through on my feet, without any delay,
v. 29. (as 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.
v. 30. But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us pass by him, through his land; for the Lord, thy God, hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. All obduracy on the part of man is as much a deed of man’s freedom, of his own willful transgression, as it is a punishment of God. When man continues to harden his heart to the influence of God, then God, in turn, hardens the sinner until he becomes altogether callous toward all efforts of the Spirit.
v. 31. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee; begin to possess that thou mayest inherit his land.
v. 32. Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz, Num 21:23.
v. 33. And the Lord, our God, delivered him before us; and we smote him and his sons and all his people, Num 21:24.
v. 34. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men and the women and the little ones of every city; we left none to remain, for it was a war of extermination;
v. 35. only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
v. 36. From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, in the extreme southern part of the territory, and from the city that is by the river, Ar or Areopolis, even unto Gilead, the southern boundary of which, generally speaking, was the Jabbok, there was not one city too strong for us, literally, "too high," too powerful to overcome; the Lord, our God, delivered all unto us;
v. 37. only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, toward the east and north, nor unto the cities in the mountains, the mountainous district of Ammonitis, nor unto whatsoever the Lord, our God, forbade us. Note that the Lord spared the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites, nations related to Israel, since He wanted to give them time and opportunity for repentance. In the very midst of the unbelievers and His professed enemies the Lord has His elect, whom He intends to lead to repentance by the glorious manifestations of His kindness and mercy.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v16 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues reminding the people of Israel of what happened in the past.
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You are ... you come ... do not trouble ... give you
Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so all instances of "you" and the command "do not trouble" are singular. (See: Forms of You)
pass over Ar
This is the name of a city in Moab. See how you translated "Ar" in Deuteronomy 2:9. (See: How to Translate Names)
to the descendants of Lot
The people of Israel were related to the descendants of Ammon. Ammon was the son of Lot. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
die
Yahweh
Moab
Ammon
possess
descend
Lot
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.