Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders.

Of Asher he said: Asher is blessed with children, may he be favored by his brothers and may he dip his foot in olive oil. ¹ 

you must say to them, ¹  “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way. ² 

When the Most High ¹  gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, ²  he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. ³ 

Then the Levitical priests ¹  will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name, ²  and to decide ³  every judicial verdict ⁴ )

I gave Gilead to Machir. ¹ 

What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage ¹  by describing people who are more numerous ²  and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven ³  itself! Moreover, they said they saw ⁴  Anakites ⁵  there.”

But when you come close to the Ammonites, do not harass or provoke them because I am not giving you any of the Ammonites’ land as your possession; I have already given it to Lot’s descendants ¹  as their possession.

You are children ¹  of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald ²  for the sake of the dead.

Again, however, pay very careful attention, ¹  lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.

just as the descendants of Esau who live at Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land the Lord our God is giving us.”

This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites. ¹ 

So on that day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites,

Now write down for yourselves the following song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it into their very mouths so that this song may serve as my witness against the Israelites!

Instruct ¹  these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives ²  the descendants of Esau, ³  who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully.

So we turned away from our relatives ¹  the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route, ²  from Elat ³  and Ezion Geber, ⁴  and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands.

Previously the Horites ¹  lived in Seir but the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land it came to possess, the land the Lord gave them.) ² 

This is exactly what he did for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their area to this very day.

However, you did not approach the land of the Ammonites, the Wadi Jabbok, ¹  the cities of the hill country, or any place else forbidden by the Lord our God.

At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites ¹  equipped for battle.