Deuteronomy 2:21

Contemporary English Version

The Zamzummim were a large and powerful tribe and were as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord helped the Ammonites, and they killed many of the Zamzummim and forced the rest to leave. Then the Ammonites settled there.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
a people great, and many, and tall, as the `Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place;

King James Version
A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

Lexham English Bible
a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakites; Yahweh destroyed them from before them, and they dispossessed them and settled in place of them,

English Standard Version
a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they dispossessed them and settled in their place,

New Century Version
They were strong people, and there were many of them; they were very tall, like the Anakites. The Lord destroyed the Zamzummites, and the Ammonites forced them out of the land and took their place.

New English Translation
They are a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. But the Lord destroyed the Rephaites in advance of the Ammonites, so they dispossessed them and settled down in their place.

Amplified Bible
a great, numerous people, and tall as the Anakim, but the LORD destroyed them before the sons of Ammon. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place,

New American Standard Bible
a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place,

Geneva Bible (1587)
A people that was great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims: but the Lord destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them in their inheritance, and dwelt in their stead:

Legacy Standard Bible
a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim, but Yahweh destroyed them before them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place,

Complete Jewish Bible
They were a large, numerous people, as tall as the ‘Anakim; but Adonai destroyed them as the people of ‘Amon advanced and settled in their place —

Darby Translation
a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakim; and Jehovah destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them, and dwelt in their stead;

Easy-to-Read Version
There were many Rephaites, and they were very strong and tall like the Anakites. But the Lord helped the Ammonites destroy them. The Ammonites took that land and live there now.

George Lamsa Translation
A people great and many and tall, like giants; but the LORD destroyed them from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their land,

Good News Translation
They were as tall as the Anakim. There were many of them, and they were a mighty race. But the Lord destroyed them, so that the Ammonites took over their land and settled there.

Christian Standard Bible®
a great and numerous people, tall as the Anakim. The Lord destroyed the Rephaim at the advance of the Ammonites, so that they drove them out and settled in their place.

Literal Translation
a great and plentiful people, and tall as the Anakim. And Jehovah destroyed them before them, and they expelled them, and lived in their place;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
which was a people that was greate, many, and of hye stature, as the Enakims.And these ye LORDE destroyed before the, and let them possesse the same, so that they dwelt in their steade.

American Standard Version
a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Jehovah destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead;

Bible in Basic English
They were a great people, tall as the Anakim, and equal to them in number; but the Lord sent destruction on them and the children of Ammon took their place, living in their land;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
A people that was great, many, and tall, as the Anakims: But the Lorde destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them in their inheritaunce, and dwelt in their steade:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead;

King James Version (1611)
A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims: but the Lord destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them & dwelt in their stead:)

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
A great nation and populous, and mightier than you, as also the Enakim: yet the Lord destroyed them from before them, and they inherited their land, and they dwelt there instead of them until this day.

English Revised Version
a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

Berean Standard Bible
They were a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
a myche puple and greet, and of noble lengthe, as Enachym, whiche the Lord dide awey fro the face of hem,

Young's Literal Translation
a people great, and numerous, and tall, as the Anakim, and Jehovah destroyeth them before them, and they dispossess them, and dwell in their stead,

Update Bible Version
a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead;

Webster's Bible Translation
A people great, and many, and tall as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

World English Bible
a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place;

New King James Version
a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place,

New Living Translation
They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites. But the Lord destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land.

New Life Bible
a people as great, as many and as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them, and the sons of Ammon took their place and lived in their land.

New Revised Standard
a strong and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
a people great and many and tall, like the Anakim, - but Yahweh destroyed them from before them, and they took their possessions, and dwelt in their stead:

Douay-Rheims Bible
A people great and many, and of tall stature, like the Enacims whom the Lord destroyed before their face: and he made them to dwell in their stead,

Revised Standard Version
a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they dispossessed them, and settled in their stead;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim, but the LORD destroyed them before them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place,

Contextual Overview

⁸ We went past the territory that belonged to our relatives, the descendants of Esau. We followed Arabah Road that starts in the south at Elath and Ezion-Geber, then we turned onto the desert road that leads to Moab. ⁹ The Lord told me, "Don't try to start a war with Moab. Leave them alone, because I gave the land of Ar to them, and I will not let you have any of it." ¹⁰ Before the Lord gave the Moabites their land, a large and powerful tribe lived there. They were the Emim, and they were as tall as the Anakim. ¹¹ The Moabites called them Emim, though others sometimes used the name Rephaim for both the Anakim and the Emim. ¹² The Horites used to live in Seir, but the Edomites took over that region. They killed many of the Horites and forced the rest of them to leave, just as Israel did to the people in the land that the Lord gave them. ¹³ Moses said to Israel: When we came to the Zered Gorge along the southern border of Moab, the Lord told us to cross the gorge into Moab, and we did. ¹⁴ This was thirty-eight years after we left Kadesh-Barnea, and by that time all the men who had been in the army at Kadesh-Barnea had died, just as the Lord had said they would. ¹⁵The Lord kept getting rid of them until finally none of them were left. ¹⁷ Then the Lord told me, ¹⁸ "Moses, now go past the town of Ar and cross Moab's northern border

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

great: Deuteronomy 2:10, Deuteronomy 2:11, Deuteronomy 1:28, Deuteronomy 3:11

but the Lord: These fragments of ancient history seem to be introduced to encourage the Israelites. If the Lord destroyed these gigantic people before the posterity of Lot and of Esau, what cause had the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his chosen servants and friends, to fear the Anakims, or the Canaanites? especially as Israel acted by commission from God, and had his promise as their security of success, and the pledge of it in his presence, and the wonders which he had already wrought for them; and as they were the only nation of worshippers of the Lord, in the ordinances of his institution, which could be found on earth. This is so often repeated to possess the minds of the Israelites with a sense of God's providence, which rules every where; displacing one people, and placing another in their stead; and fixing their bounds also, which they cannot pass without his leave. Deuteronomy 2:22, Judges 11:24, Jeremiah 27:7, Jeremiah 27:8, Habakkuk 1:10, Habakkuk 1:11

Reciprocal: Genesis 6:4 - giants Numbers 13:28 - strong Deuteronomy 9:2 - great Joshua 11:21 - the Anakims 2 Samuel 21:16 - of the sons 2 Chronicles 33:9 - the heathen Jeremiah 27:5 - and have

Cross-References

Genesis 15:12
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and everything became dark and frightening.

1 Samuel 26:12
David took the spear and the water jar, then left the camp. None of Saul's soldiers knew what had happened or even woke up—the Lord had made all of them fall sound asleep.

Job 4:13
I was overcome by sleep, but disturbed by dreams;

Job 33:15
Sometimes in the night, he uses terrifying dreams

Proverbs 19:15
If you are lazy and sleep your time away, you will starve.

Daniel 8:18
While he was speaking, I fell facedown in a deep sleep. But he lifted me to my feet

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A people great and many, and tall as the Anakims,.... As the Emims were, Deuteronomy 2:10 but the Lord destroyed them before them; destroyed the Zamzummims before the children of Amman; or otherwise they would have been an too much for them, being so numerous, and of such a gigantic stature:

and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead; and in this way, and by these means, he gave them their land for a possession, Deuteronomy 2:19.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

These verses, like Deuteronomy 2:10-12, are in all likelihood an addition made by a later reviser.

Deuteronomy 2:20

Zamzummims - A giant race usually identified with the Zuzims of Genesis 14:5.

Deuteronomy 2:23

The Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah - Read (Gaza, of which Azzah is the Hebrew form. “Hazerim” is not strictly a proper name, but means “villages,” or “enclosures,” probably such as are still common in the East. The Avims are no doubt identical with the Avites of Joshua 13:3, and were doubtless a scattered remnant of a people conquered by the Caphtorim (Genesis 10:14 note) and living in their “enclosures” in the neighborhood of Gerar. The word, which means “ruins,” seems itself expressive of their fallen state.