The Wilderness Years

But Ioshua the sonne of Nun which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: incourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherite it.

Moreouer, your children, which ye sayd should be a praye, and your sonnes, which in that day had no knowledge betweene good and euill, they shall go in thither, and vnto them wil I giue it, and they shall possesse it.

But as for you, turne backe, and take your iourney into the wildernesse by the way of the red Sea.

Then ye answered and sayd vnto me, We haue sinned against the Lord, we wil go vp, and fight, according to all that the Lord our God hath commanded vs: and ye armed you euery man to the warre, and were ready to goe vp into the mountaine.

But the Lord said vnto me, Say vnto them, Goe not vp, neither fight, (for I am not among you) least ye fall before your enemies.

And when I told you, ye would not heare, but rebelled against the commandement of the Lord, and were presumptuous, and went vp into the mountaine.

Then the Amorites which dwelt in that mountaine came out against you, and chased you (as bees vse to doe) and destroied you in Seir, euen vnto Hormah.

And when ye came againe, ye wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not heare your voyce, nor incline his eares vnto you.

So ye abode in Kadesh a long time, according to the time that ye had remained before.

Then we turned, and tooke our iourney into the wildernes, by the way of the red Sea, as the Lord spake vnto me: and we compassed mount Seir a long time.

And the Lord spake vnto me, saying,

Ye haue compassed this mountaine long ynough: turne you Northward.

And warne thou the people, saying, Ye shall go through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraide of you: take ye good heede therefore.

Ye shall not prouoke them: for I wil not giue you of their land so much as a foot breadth, because I haue giuen mount Seir vnto Esau for a possession.

Ye shall buy meate of them for money to eate, and ye shall also procure water of them for money to drinke.

For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the workes of thine hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wildernes, and the Lord thy God hath bene with thee this fourtie yeere, and thou hast lacked nothing.

And when we were departed from our brethren the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plaine, from Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and went by the way of the wildernes of Moab.

Then the Lord sayd vnto me, Thou shalt not vexe Moab, neither prouoke them to battel: for I wil not giue thee of their land for a possession, because I haue giuen Ar vnto the children of Lot for a possession.

The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great and many, and tall, as the Anakims.

They also were taken for gyants as the Anakims: whom the Moabites call Emims.

The Horims also dwelt in Seir before time, whome the children of Esau chased out and destroyed them before them, and dwelt in their steade: as Israel shall doe vnto the land of his possession, which the Lord hath giuen them.

Now rise vp, sayd I, and get you ouer the riuer Zered: and we went ouer the riuer Zered.

The space also wherein we came from Kadesh-barnea, vntill we were come ouer the riuer Zered, was eight and thirtie yeeres, vntill all the generation of the men of warre were wasted out from among the hoste, as the Lord sware vnto them.

For in deede the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the hoste, till they were consumed.

So when all the men of warre were consumed and dead from among the people: