Old Testament · Law

Deuteronomy 3

Victories East

Og and Sihon fall. Moses distributes land east of the Jordan. The conquest has already begun — but Moses won't be the one to finish it.

Berean Standard Bible BSB KJV

1Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.

2But the LORD said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”

3So the LORD our God also delivered Og king of Bashan and his whole army into our hands. We struck them down until no survivor was left.

4At that time we captured all sixty of his cities. There was not a single city we failed to take—the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

5All these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars, and there were many more unwalled villages.

6We devoted them to destruction, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.

7But all the livestock and plunder of the cities we carried off for ourselves.

8At that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites the land across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon—

9which the Sidonians call Sirion but the Amorites call Senir—

10all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as the cities of Salecah and Edrei in the kingdom of Og.

11(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)

12So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.

13To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.)

14Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.

15To Machir I gave Gilead,

16and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.

17The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.

18At that time I commanded you: “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor are to cross over, armed for battle, ahead of your brothers, the Israelites.

19But your wives, your children, and your livestock—I know that you have much livestock—may remain in the cities I have given you,

20until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then each of you may return to the possession I have given you.”

21And at that time I commanded Joshua: “Your own eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter.

22Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”

23At that time I also pleaded with the LORD:

24“O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant. For what god in heaven or on earth can perform such works and mighty acts as Yours?

25Please let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that pleasant hill country as well as Lebanon!”

26But the LORD was angry with me on account of you, and He would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said to me. “Do not speak to Me again about this matter.

27Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west and north and south and east. See the land with your own eyes, for you will not cross this Jordan.

28But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”

29So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Understand This

Deuteronomy 3, explained

What Deuteronomy 3 is saying

Moses recounts the defeat of Og king of Bashan—a giant whose iron bed measured thirteen feet—and the distribution of the Transjordan territory to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Moses describes his personal plea to enter the promised land and God's firm refusal, telling him to commission Joshua instead.

The background behind it

Og's giant stature and iron bedstead connect to the broader tradition of giant inhabitants in the region, linking back to the Rephaim traditions. Moses' poignant request to cross the Jordan (vv. 23–28) is unique to Deuteronomy and reveals the personal cost of his sin at Meribah.

Themes running underneath

God's faithfulness in battle stands alongside His unyielding judgment of His own servant. The juxtaposition of military triumph and personal denial is striking—Moses can lead Israel to victory over giants but cannot overcome the consequence of his own disobedience.

Why it still matters

Success in one area does not automatically resolve failures in another. Moses' experience teaches that some consequences are final even for the most faithful, and maturity means accepting that gracefully while pouring into the future through others.

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Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible — used by permission, Bible Hub.