“ Yet I destroyed the Amorites to make room in the land for my people. The Amorites were as tall as cedar trees. They were as strong as oak trees. But I cut off their fruit above the ground and their roots below it.

“我从以色列人面前除灭亚摩利人。他虽高大如香柏树，坚固如橡树，我却上灭他的果子，下绝他的根本。

“我从他们面前除灭亚摩利人；他虽高大如香柏树，强壮如橡树，我却上灭其果，下绝其根。

“我从他们面前除灭亚摩利人；他虽高大如香柏树，强壮如橡树，我却上灭其果，下绝其根。

“以色列人啊，我在你们面前消灭了亚摩利人。虽然他们像香柏树那样高大，如橡树那样强壮，但我灭尽了他们的果子，砍断了他们的根。

我不是在他们面前把亚摩利人消灭了吗？亚摩利人虽像香柏树高大，像橡树那样坚固；我却要灭绝它树上的果子，拔除树下的根。

我從以色列人面前除滅亞摩利人。他雖高大如香柏樹，堅固如橡樹，我卻上滅他的果子，下絕他的根本。

「我從他們面前除滅亞摩利人；他雖高大如香柏樹，強壯如橡樹，我卻上滅其果，下絕其根。

「我從他們面前除滅亞摩利人；他雖高大如香柏樹，強壯如橡樹，我卻上滅其果，下絕其根。

「以色列人啊，我在你們面前消滅了亞摩利人。雖然他們像香柏樹那樣高大，如橡樹那樣強壯，但我滅盡了他們的果子，砍斷了他們的根。

我不是在他們面前把亞摩利人消滅了嗎？亞摩利人雖像香柏樹高大，像橡樹那樣堅固；我卻要滅絕它樹上的果子，拔除樹下的根。

『然而卻是我從以色列人面前剿滅了亞摩利人的；亞摩利人雖如香柏樹那麼高大，雖如橡樹那麼強健，卻是我去上滅了他的果子，下絕了他的根的。

昔我滅亞摩利人於爾前、其人高若香柏、強如橡樹、我上滅其果、下絕其根、

昔彼未至斯土、亞摩哩人居之、高若柏香木、強為橡樹、我剝其果、絕其根、盡歸殲滅、

昔有亞摩利人、高若柏香木、強如橡樹、我翦滅之於以色列人前、上剝其果、下毀其根、

“ Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.

“ Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.

“ But as my people watched, I destroyed the Amorites, though they were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed the fruit on their branches and dug out their roots.

Yet I destroyed the Amorite as Israel advanced; his height was like the cedars, and he was as sturdy as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.

“ Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Though his height was like the height of cedars And he was as strong as the oaks; I also destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.

“ Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.

Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

Yet I destroyed the Amorite as Israel advanced; his height was like the cedars, and he was as sturdy as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.

Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height[ was] like the height of the cedars, and he[ was] strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.

Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

Their roots dry up under them. Their branches dry up above them.

“ You can be sure the day of the Lord is coming. My anger will burn like a furnace. All those who are proud will be like straw. So will all those who do what is evil. The day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord who rules over all.“ Not even a root or a branch will be left to them.

Your children’s grandchildren will come back here. That’s because the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached the point where I must punish them.”

But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. He gathered his whole army together. Then he marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel.But Israel put him to death with their swords. They took over his land. They took everything from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. But they didn’t take over any of the land of the Ammonites. That’s because the Ammonites had built strong forts along their border.The Israelites captured all the cities of the Amorites. Then they settled down in them. They captured the city of Heshbon. They also captured all the settlements around it.

Obey what I command you today. I will drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites to make room for you.

The men spread a bad report about the land among the Israelites. They said,“ The land we checked out destroys those who live in it. All the people we saw there are very big and tall.We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And that’s also how we seemed to them.” The family line of Anak came from the Nephilim.

The Lord said,“ Start out and go across the valley of the Arnon River. I have handed Sihon over to you. He is the Amorite king of Heshbon. I have also given you his country. Begin to take it as your own. Go to war against him.This very day I will bring fear and terror on all the nations because of you. They will hear about you. They will tremble with fear. Pain and suffering will grip them because of you.”I sent messengers from the Desert of Kedemoth. I told them to go to Sihon, the king of Heshbon. They offered him peace. They said,“ Let us pass through your country. We’ll stay on the main road. We won’t turn off it to one side or the other.We’ll pay you the right amount of silver for food to eat and water to drink. Just let us walk through your country.The people of Esau, who live in Seir, allowed us to do that. The people of Moab, who live in Ar, also allowed us to do it. So let us walk through until we go across the Jordan River. Then we’ll be able to go into the land the Lord our God is giving us.”But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, refused to let us walk through. The Lord your God had made him stubborn in his heart and spirit. The Lord wanted to hand him over to you. And that’s exactly what he has done.The Lord said to me,“ I have begun to hand Sihon and his country over to you. So begin the battle to take his land as your own.”Sihon and his whole army came out to fight against us at Jahaz.But the Lord our God handed him over to us. We struck him down together with his sons and his whole army.

Og, the king of Bashan, was the only Rephaite left. His bed was decorated with iron. It was more than 13 feet long and six feet wide. It is still in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.

Israel, listen to me. You are now about to go across the Jordan River. You will take over the land of the nations that live there. Those nations are greater and stronger than you are. Their large cities have walls that reach up to the sky.The people who live there are Anakites. They are strong and tall. You know all about them. You have heard people say,“ Who can stand up against the Anakites?”But today you can be sure the Lord your God will go over there ahead of you. He is like a fire that will burn them up. He’ll destroy them. He’ll bring them under your control. You will drive them out. You will put an end to them quickly, just as the Lord has promised you.

But the people who live there are powerful. Their cities have high walls around them and are very large. We even saw members of the family line of Anak there.The Amalekites live in the Negev Desert. The Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the central hill country. The Canaanites live near the Mediterranean Sea. They also live along the Jordan River.”

He destroyed many nations. He killed mighty kings.He killed Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan. He killed all the kings of Canaan.He gave their land as a gift to his people Israel.

So I have come down to save them from the Egyptians. I will bring them up out of that land. I will bring them into a good land. It has a lot of room. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey. The Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites live there.

“ Then the Lord, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel. Israel won the battle over them. Amorites were living in the country at that time. And Israel took over all their land.Israel captured all the land between the Arnon River and the Jabbok River. It reached from the desert all the way to the Jordan River.“ The Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out to make room for his people. So what right do you have to take it over?

He killed great kings. His faithful love continues forever.He struck down mighty kings. His faithful love continues forever.He killed Sihon, the king of the Amorites. His faithful love continues forever.He killed Og, the king of Bashan. His faithful love continues forever.He gave their land as a gift. His faithful love continues forever.He gave it as a gift to his servant Israel. His faithful love continues forever.

So the three mighty warriors fought their way past the Philistine guards. They got some water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem. They took the water back to David. But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord.“ Lord, I would never drink that water!” David said.“ It stands for the blood of these men. They put their lives in danger by going to Bethlehem to get it.” So David wouldn’t drink it. Those were some of the brave things the three mighty warriors did.Abishai was chief over the three mighty warriors. He was the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah. He used his spear against 300 men. He killed all of them. So he became as famous as the three mighty warriors were.In fact, he was even more honored than the three mighty warriors. He became their commander. But he wasn’t included among them.Benaiah was a great hero from Kabzeel. He was the son of Jehoiada. Benaiah did many brave things. He struck down two of Moab’s best warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day. He killed a lion there.And he struck down a huge Egyptian. The Egyptian was holding a spear. Benaiah went out to fight against him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand. Then he killed him with it.Those were some of the brave things Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, did. He too was as famous as the three mighty warriors were.

You will soon know that the living God is among you. He will certainly drive out the people now living in the land. He’ll do it to make room for you. He’ll drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.

“‘ I brought you to the land of the Amorites. They lived east of the Jordan River. They fought against you. But I handed them over to you. I destroyed them to make room for you. Then you took over their land.Balak, the son of Zippor, prepared to fight against Israel. Balak was the king of Moab. He sent for Balaam, the son of Beor. Balak wanted Balaam to put a curse on you.But I would not listen to Balaam’s curses. So he blessed you again and again. And I saved you from his power.“‘ Then you went across the Jordan River. You came to Jericho. Its people fought against you. So did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites. But I handed them over to you.I sent hornets ahead of you. They drove your enemies out to make room for you. That included the two Amorite kings. You did not do that with your own swords and bows.

Where can we go? The men who checked out the land have made us afraid. They say,‘ The people are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are large. They have walls that reach up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’ ”

The Emites used to live there. They were strong people. There were large numbers of them. They were as tall as the Anakites.Like the Anakites, they too were thought of as Rephaites. But the Moabites called them Emites.

“ You gave them kingdoms and nations. You even gave them lands far away. They took over the country of Sihon. He was the king of Heshbon. They also took over the country of Og. He was the king of Bashan.You gave them as many children as there are stars in the sky. You told their parents to enter the land. You told them to take it over. And you brought their children into it.Their children went into the land. They took it as their own. You brought the Canaanites under Israel’s control. The Canaanites lived in the land. But you handed them over to Israel. You also handed over their kings and the other nations in the land to Israel. You allowed Israel to deal with them just as they wanted to.

“ Ezekiel, tell the Israelites,‘ The Lord and King asks,“ Will the vine grow? Won’t it be pulled up by its roots? Won’t all its fruit be stripped off? Won’t it dry up? All its new growth will dry up. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up.

So the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel. On that day Joshua spoke to the Lord while the Israelites were listening. He said,“ Sun, stand still over Gibeon. And you, moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”

At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites. They lived all through the hill country of Judah and Israel. They lived in Hebron, Debir and Anab. Joshua totally destroyed the Anakites and their towns.There weren’t any Anakites left alive in Israel’s territory. But a few were left alive in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.

Flames of fire burn up straw. Dry grass sinks down into those flames. Evil people will be like plants whose roots rot away. They will be like flowers that are blown away like dust. That’s because they have said no to the law of the Lord who rules over all. They have turned against the message of the Holy One of Israel.