congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Red Sea way, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses: Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, nor any water; and our soul loatheth this vile bread. Then Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said: We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And Jehovah said to Moses: Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.

And the children of Israel journeyed, and pitched in Oboth. And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness eastward of Moab, toward the sunrising. Thence they journeyed, and pitched in the valley of Zered. Thence they journeyed, and pitched on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness, that cometh out of the border of the Amorites:

SONG OF THE WELL.

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for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. And thence they journeyed to Beer (Well): that is the well whereof Jehovah said to Moses: Gather the people together, and I will give them water. Then sang Israel this song:

Spring up, Well; sing ye to it:

Well, which princes digged,

The nation's nobles delved,

With the sceptre, with their staves.

And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah ; and from Mattanah to Nahaliel (Valley of El); and from Nahaliel to Bamoth-baal (Heights of Baal); and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the Field of Moab, at the summit of Pisgah, on the side toward the desert.

CHAPTER XIV.

NUMBERS, xxi., xxii., xxvii., xxxi., xxxii.
DEUTERONOMY, v., vi., ix., x., xxxiv.

CONQUEST OF GILEAD.

The Battle of Jahaz-Song of Heshbon-Battle of Edrei-Plague of Peor-War with Midian-Reuben and Gad-Law of InheritanceWarnings of Moses-Death of Moses—Joshua Made Leader.

THEN Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying: Let me pass through thy land; we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells; we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed thy border. But Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border. And Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, unto the land of the children of Ammon, (for Jazer was the border of the children of Ammon). And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.

Now Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. Therefore the poets say:

SONG OF HESHBON.

Come to Heshbon;

Built and founded is the city of Sihon.
Yea, a fire went out from Heshbon,

A flame from Sihon's fortress;

It ate up Ar of Moab,

Lord of the heights of Arnon.
Woe to thee, Moab !

Thou art lost, folk of Chemosh.

His sons are put to flight;

His daughters are made captive

To the king of the Amorites, Sihon.

We shot at them ;

From Heshbon to Dibon they perished.
We wasted them

With flames of fire to Medeba.

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Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they took its villages, and drove out the Amorites that were there. Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And Jehovah said to Moses: Fear him not; for into thy hand have I delivered him, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive; and they possessed his land.

And the children of Israel journeyed, and pitched in the Plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. And the people began to go astray after the daughters of Moab, and they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people of Israel ate at their sacri

ficial feasts, and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself unto Baal of Peor, and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel. And Moses said to the judges of Israel: Slay ye every one his men that have yoked themselves unto Baal of Peor. And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And when Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand, and went after the man of Israel, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

Then Jehovah spake to Moses, saying: Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake to the people, saying: Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Jehovah's vengeance on Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the

war.

So there were numbered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, and with them Phineas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah commanded Moses; and slew every male. And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain; Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And the