1The king of Arad city lived in the area where the Canaan people-group lived, in the desert in the southern part of the land. He heard a report that the Israelis were approaching on the road to Atharim village. So his army attacked the Israelis and captured some of them.
2Then the Israelis solemnly vowed: “Yahweh, if you will help us to defeat these people, we will completely destroy all their towns.”
3Yahweh heard what they requested, and he enabled them to defeat the army of the Canaan people-group. The Israeli soldiers killed all the people and destroyed their towns. Ever since that time, that place has been called Hormah which means ❛destruction❜.
4Then the Israelis left Hor Mountain and traveled on the road towards the Red Sea, in order to go around the land of Edom. But the people became impatient along the way,
5and they began to grumble/complain against God and against Moses/me. They said, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in this desert RHQ? There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink. And we detest this lousy manna food!”
6So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died.
7Then the people came to Moses/me and cried out, saying, “We now know that we have sinned against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh, asking that he will take away the snakes!” So Moses/I prayed for the people.
8Then Yahweh told him/me, “Make a model/image of a poisonous snake, and attach it to the top of a pole. If those who are bitten by the snakes look at that model, they will ◄recover/get well►.”
9So Moses/I made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
10Then the Israelis traveled to Oboth and ◄camped/set up their tents► there.
11Then they left there, and went to Iye-Abarim, in the desert on the eastern border of Moab.
12From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there.
Numbers 21
Numbers 21:1-12