Deuteronomy 3

1 Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan. Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

2 The LORD said to me, “Don’t fear him; for I have delivered him, with all his people and his land, into your hand. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”

3 So the LORD our God also delivered into our hand Og, the king of Bashan, and all his people. We struck him until no one was left to him remaining.

4 We took all his cities at that time. There was not a city which we didn’t take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, in addition to a great many villages without walls.

6 We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones.

7 But all the livestock, and the plunder of the cities, we took for plunder for ourselves.

8 We took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon.

9 (The Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir.)

10 We took all the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11 (For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Isn’t it in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its width, after the cubit of a man.)

12 This land we took in possession at that time: from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites;

13 and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh—all the region of Argob, even all Bashan. (The same is called the land of Rephaim.

14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day.)

15 I gave Gilead to Machir.

16 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley, and its border, even to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;

17 the Arabah also, and the Jordan and its border, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.

18 I commanded you at that time, saying, “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it. All of you men of valor shall pass over armed before your brothers, the children of Israel.

19 But your wives, and your little ones, and your livestock, (I know that you have much livestock), shall live in your cities which I have given you,

20 until the LORD gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then you shall each return to his own possession, which I have given you.”

21 I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, “Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So shall the LORD do to all the kingdoms where you go over.

22 You shall not fear them; for the LORD your God himself fights for you.”

23 I begged GOD at that time, saying,

24 “Lord GOD, you have begun to show your servant your greatness, and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or in earth that can do works like yours, and mighty acts like yours?

25 Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that fine mountain, and Lebanon.”

26 But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and didn’t listen to me. The LORD said to me, “That is enough! Speak no more to me of this matter.

27 Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes; for you shall not go over this Jordan.

28 But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.”

29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

Around Deuteronomy 3

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Deuteronomy 3 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

The road turns north, and a giant stands in the way. Og, king of Bashan, comes out with all his people to battle at Edrei. The LORD tells Moses not to fear him, because he is already delivered into their hand. Israel takes sixty cities. The text adds an odd detail: Og's iron bedstead was nine cubits long.

Moses then recalls how he divided the new land among Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh. Their men would cross the Jordan armed in front of their brothers, while wives, children and livestock stayed in the cities.

The chapter ends quietly. Moses begged the LORD to let him cross and see the good land beyond the Jordan. The answer is no: that is enough, speak no more of this. He may climb Pisgah and look in every direction with his own eyes, but Joshua will lead the people over. Moses is told to encourage him. So they stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

Background

This is the third chapter of Moses' opening speech on the plains of Moab. He is giving his people the history that leads to the moment they are in. Og and Sihon were told in Numbers 21, and the arrangement with the eastern tribes in Numbers 32. The personal plea of Moses is one of the most human moments in the book, and it is linked back to the events at Meribah in Numbers 20.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 25 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes