Deuteronomy 2:19
וְקָרַבְתָּ מוּל בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן אַל־תְּצֻרֵם וְאַל־תִּתְגָּר בָּם כִּי לֹֽא־אֶתֵּן מֵאֶרֶץ בְּנֵי־עַמּוֹן לְךָ יְרֻשָּׁה כִּי לִבְנֵי־לוֹט נְתַתִּיהָ יְרֻשָּֽׁה׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וְקָרַבְתָּ֗ מ֚וּל בְּנֵ֣י עַמּ֔וֹן אַל־תְּצֻרֵ֖ם וְאַל־תִּתְגָּ֣ר בָּ֑ם כִּ֣י לֹֽא־אֶ֠תֵּן מֵאֶ֨רֶץ בְּנֵי־עַמּ֤וֹן לְךָ֙ יְרֻשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֥י לִבְנֵי־ל֖וֹט נְתַתִּ֥יהָ יְרֻשָּֽׁה׃
προσάξετε ἐγγὺς υἱῶν Ἀμμάν· μὴ ἐχθραίνετε αὐτοῖς καὶ μὴ συνάψητε αὐτοῖς εἰς πόλεμον, οὐ γὰρ μὴ δῶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς υἱῶν Ἀμμάν σοι ἐν κλήρῳ, ὅτι τοῖς υἱοῖς Λὼτ δέδωκα αὐτὴν ἐν κλήρῳ.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
et accedens in vicina filiorum Ammon, cave ne pugnes contra eos, nec movearis ad prælium: non enim dabo tibi de terra filiorum Ammon, quia filiis Loth dedi eam in possessionem.
Cuando te acerques a la frontera de los hijos de Amón, no los molestes ni contiendas con ellos, porque no te daré nada de la tierra de los hijos de Amón en posesión, porque se la he dado a los hijos de Lot en posesión.”
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y te acercarás delante de los hijos de Ammón: no los molestes, ni te metas con ellos; porque no te tengo de dar posesión de la tierra de los hijos de Ammón; que á los hijos de Lot la he dado por heredad.
But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse instructs the addressee (Israel, through Moses) to approach near the territory of the bnei Ammon ("people of Ammon", H1121G/H5983) without provoking or engaging in conflict with them. The reason given is that the land of Ammon has already been allotted by Yehovah as a yerushah ("possession", H3425) to the bnei Lot ("descendants of Lot", H1121G/H3876).
Key words
- ka.rav.Ta ("you will draw near", H7126G) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative sequence of movement toward Ammonite territory.
- te.tzu.Re ("you provoke", H6696B) — qal jussive negated by 'al ("may not", H0408), forming a prohibition rather than a simple future statement.
- tit.Gar ("you engage in strife", H1624) — hithpael (reflexive/reciprocal) jussive, indicating mutual engagement in conflict, not a one-sided action.
- 'E.ten ("I will give", H5414G) — qal imperfect, marking the land-grant as a statement about the future/ongoing situation regarding Ammon.
- ne.ta.Ti ("I have given", H5414G) — qal perfect, marking the land-grant to the bnei Lot as an already-completed act, in contrast to the imperfect used for Ammon.
What the text says
The sentence structure moves through three stages: an instruction to approach (ve-karavta), two parallel prohibitions using jussive negated verbs (al-tetzurem, al-titgar bam), and a causal explanation introduced twice by ki ("for"/"that", H3588A). The repetition of ki creates two linked reasons: first, that the land will not be given to the addressee (lo-eten, imperfect), and second, that it has already been given to the bnei Lot (netatiha, perfect). This shift from imperfect to perfect verb forms marks a temporal contrast — the non-giving to Israel is framed as a standing situation, while the giving to Lot's descendants is presented as a completed, prior act.
The two prohibitions use different verbal stems: tetzurem is qal, describing direct provocation, while titgar is hithpael, implying a reciprocal or self-involving type of strife ("engage yourself in conflict with them"). Both are grammatically constructed as jussives with 'al, a form used for prohibition distinct from a simple negated imperfect.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders mul ("in front of", H4136) as ἐγγύς ("near"), a spatial description that lacks the "facing/opposite" nuance of the Hebrew construct. The LXX also adds εἰς πόλεμον ("into war") after mē synapsēte autois ("do not engage with them"), specifying military conflict where the Hebrew titgar bam leaves the nature of the strife unspecified. The Vulgate's cave ne pugnes ("beware lest you fight") introduces a cautionary tone not explicit in the Hebrew jussive construction.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.