Moses reminded them of their wandering in the desert

2 “Then we turned around and went through the desert toward the ◄Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba►, as Yahweh told us to do, and we wandered in the Edom area for many years.

2 Then Yahweh said to me, 3 ‘You have been wandering around this hilly area for a long enough time. Now turn and travel toward the north. 4 And tell the people that they are about to travel near the land that belongs to the descendants of Esau, who are also descendants of Isaac. They live in the hilly Edom region. They will be afraid of you, 5 but do not start to fight against them, because I am not going to give you even a tiny bit [HYP] of their land. I have given that land to the descendants of Esau. 6 When you travel near their land, buy food and water from them.’

7 Do not forget that Yahweh our God has blessed you in everything that you [SYN] have done. He knows what has happened to you while you have wandered in this huge desert. But he has been with you during those 40 years, and as a result you have had everything that you needed [LIT].

8 So we continued to travel. We avoided going through the hilly area where the descendants of Esau live. We stayed away from the road through the Jordan River Valley past Ezion-Geber and Elath towns, and we turned and traveled northeast toward the desert area where the Moab people-group lives.

9 Yahweh said to me, ‘Do not bother/harass the people of Moab, and do not start to fight against them, because I am not going to give you any of their land. Do not forget that they are descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot, and I have given to them Ar city, their capital, and the other areas in that country.’ ”

10 A large group of giants called Emim formerly lived there. They were strong and numerous, and as tall as the giants who were descendants of Anak. 11 They and the descendants of Anak are also called the Repha giants, but the people of Moab call them Emim. 12 The Hor people-group also formerly lived in the Edom area, but the descendants of Esau chased them out. They defeated and killed them and ◄settled in/occupied► their land, just as the Israeli people later expelled their enemies from the land that Yahweh gave to them.

13 I also said to the Israeli people, “Then we crossed the Zered Gorge, as Yahweh told us to do. 14 It had been thirty-eight years from the time we first left Kadesh-Barnea until we crossed the Zered Gorge. During those years, all the Israeli ◄fighting men/soldiers► of that generation had died, as Yahweh had vowed would happen. 15 They died because Yahweh opposed them, until he had gotten rid of all of them.

16 After all the men who had been old enough to fight in wars had died [DOU], 17 Yahweh said to me, 18 ‘Today you all must cross the border into the Moab region, near Ar, their capital city. 19 When you come near the border of the land where the Ammon people-group live, do not bother/harass them or start to fight against them. They are also descendants of Lot, so I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given to them.’ ”