Deuteronomy 2:30

וְלֹא אָבָה סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַעֲבִרֵנוּ בּוֹ כִּֽי־הִקְשָׁה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת־רוּחוֹ וְאִמֵּץ אֶת־לְבָבוֹ לְמַעַן תִּתּוֹ בְיָדְךָ כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ ס

✦ Hebrew interlinear

Tap a word to see its entry

✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וְלֹ֣א אָבָ֗ה סִיחֹן֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ חֶשְׁבּ֔וֹן הַעֲבִרֵ֖נוּ בּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־הִקְשָׁה֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ אֶת־רוּח֗וֹ וְאִמֵּץ֙ אֶת־לְבָב֔וֹ לְמַ֛עַן תִּתּ֥וֹ בְיָדְךָ֖ כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ ס

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν Σηὼν βασιλεὺς Ἑσεβὼν παρελθεῖν ἡμᾶς δι’ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐσκλήρυνεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ καὶ κατίσχυσεν τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ, ἵνα παραδοθῇ εἰς τὰς χεῖράς σου ὡς ἐν τῆ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

Noluitque Sehon rex Hesebon dare nobis transitum: quia induraverat Dominus Deus tuus spiritum ejus, et obfirmaverat cor illius, ut traderetur in manus tuas, sicut nunc vides.

Spanish

Pero Sehón, rey de Hesbón, no nos dejó pasar, porque el Señor, tu Dios, endureció su espíritu e hizo que su corazón se obstinara, para entregarlo en tu mano, como sucede hoy.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Mas Sehón rey de Hesbón no quiso que pasásemos por el territorio suyo; porque Jehová tu Dios había endurecido su espíritu, y obstinado su corazón para entregarlo en tu mano, como hoy.

English

But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.

✦ What the text says

Summary

Deuteronomy 2:30 reports that Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to allow Israel passage through his land. The verse attributes this refusal to Yehovah having hardened Sihon's spirit and heart, with the stated purpose of delivering him into Israel's hand.

Key words

'a.Vah ("he was willing", H0014) — qal perfect, negated by Lo' ("not", H3808), stating Sihon's completed refusal.
hik.Shah ("he had made stubborn", H7185) — hiphil (causative) perfect; Yehovah is the causal agent acting on Sihon's ru.Ch ("spirit", H7307).
'i.Metz ("he had made obstinate", H0553) — piel (intensive) sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain begun with hik.Shah, intensifying the action on the le.va.V ("heart", H3824).
le.Ma.'an ("so as", H4616) — subordinating particle introducing purpose: the hardening occurs in order that the following result happens.
ti.T ("to give", H5414) — qal infinitive, expressing the intended outcome (handing Sihon over) that follows from the hardening.

What the text says

The verse divides into two clauses joined by ki ("for", H3588A). The first clause states the historical fact: Sihon lo' 'avah ("was not willing", H3808/H0014) to let Israel pass, using the hiphil infinitive ha'aviReinu ("to let us pass", H5674) as the object of his unwillingness. The second clause, introduced by ki, supplies the cause: Yehovah hikshah ("made stubborn", H7185) Sihon's ruach ("spirit", H7307) and, through the sequential piel verb 'immetz ("made obstinate", H0553), his levav ("heart", H3824). The piel form of 'immetz carries an intensive nuance compared to the causative hiphil of hikshah, so the text uses two different verbal stems to describe the same general action of hardening, applied respectively to "spirit" and "heart" as parallel objects marked by 'et (H0853).

The purpose clause beginning with lema'an ("so as", H4616) plus the qal infinitive titto ("to give him", H5414+suffix) states the goal of this hardening: that Sihon be given beyadkha ("into your hand", H3027+suffix). The final phrase kayom hazzeh ("as this day", H3117+H2088) closes the verse by anchoring the described outcome to the narrator's present moment.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the purpose clause with a passive construction, paradothē ("he might be delivered"), shifting the grammatical subject from Israel's hand receiving Sihon to Sihon himself being delivered — a passive where the Hebrew titto ("to give him") uses an active infinitive with Yehovah's implied agency continuing from the prior clause. The Vulgate's sicut nunc vides ("as you now see") interprets kayom hazzeh ("as this day") with an added verb of perception not present in the Hebrew phrase itself, which literally states only "as this day" without specifying seeing.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.