Numbers 21:34
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אַל־תִּירָא אֹתוֹ כִּי בְיָדְךָ נָתַתִּי אֹתוֹ וְאֶת־כָּל־עַמּוֹ וְאֶת־אַרְצוֹ וְעָשִׂיתָ לּוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ לְסִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ הָֽאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר יוֹשֵׁב בְּחֶשְׁבּֽוֹן׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֤ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה֙ אַל־תִּירָ֣א אֹת֔וֹ כִּ֣י בְיָדְךָ֞ נָתַ֧תִּי אֹת֛וֹ וְאֶת־כָּל־עַמּ֖וֹ וְאֶת־אַרְצ֑וֹ וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ לּ֔וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשִׂ֗יתָ לְסִיחֹן֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּחֶשְׁבּֽוֹן׃
καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν Μὴ φοβηθῇς αὐτόν, ὅτι εἰς τὰς χεῖράς σου παραδέδωκα αὐτὸν καὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ. κα ποιήσεις αὐτῷ καθὼς ἐποίησας τῷ Σηὼν βασιλεῖ τῶν Ἀμορραίων, ὃς κατῴκει ἐν Ἑσεβών. καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ, ἕως τοῦ μὴ καταλιπεῖν αὐτοῦ ζωγρείαν· καὶ ἐκληρονόμησαν τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen: Ne timeas eum, quia in manu tua tradidi illum, et omnem populum ac terram ejus: faciesque illi sicut fecisti Sehon, regi Amorrhæorum habitatori Hesebon.
Yehová le dijo a Moisés: “No le tengas miedo, porque lo he entregado en tus manos junto con todo su ejército y su tierra. Harás con él lo mismo que hiciste con Sehón, el rey amorreo que vivía en Hesbón”.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Entonces Jehová dijo á Moisés: No le tengas miedo, que en tu mano lo he dado, á él y á todo su pueblo, y á su tierra; y harás de él como hiciste de Sehón, rey de los Amorrheos, que habitaba en Hesbón.
But the LORD said to Moses, “ Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”
✦ What the text says
Summary
Yehovah tells Moses not to fear the unnamed enemy king (Og of Bashan, per the wider context), declaring that this king, his people, and his land have already been given into Moses' hand. Moses is instructed to treat him as he treated Sihon, king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon.
Key words
- tira ("you fear", H3372G) — qal jussive with the negation 'al, forming a prohibition: "you shall not fear," addressed directly to Moses (2nd person masculine).
- natati ("I have given", H5414G) — qal perfect, 1st person. Though grammatically a completed action, it describes an event still future in the narrative (the conquest), functioning as a declaration of certain outcome.
- yadekha ("your hand", H3027H + H9021) — construct noun with 2nd-person suffix, forming the idiom "into your hand," meaning under Moses' control or power.
- 'asita ("you will do", H6213A) — qal sequential perfect (ve- + perfect continuing the narrative sequence), functioning as a command/future action following the preceding statement.
- ka'asher ("as", H0834D) — relative/comparative particle introducing the standard of comparison: the treatment given to Sihon becomes the model for the treatment of this king.
What the text says
The verse opens with the narrative formula vayomer Yehovah 'el-Mosheh ("and Yehovah said to Moses"), a standard construction introducing direct divine speech. The core prohibition, 'al-tira 'oto ("do not fear him"), uses the negative particle 'al with a jussive form of tira, a construction typical for immediate, situational commands rather than general prohibitions.
The causal clause ki ve-yadekha natati 'oto ("for into your hand I have given him") uses the qal perfect natati. Even though the conquest has not yet occurred in the narrative sequence, the perfect aspect presents the giving as an accomplished fact — a common feature in Hebrew where a future event is spoken of as already settled from the divine perspective. The object 'oto (marked by the direct object marker 'et + suffix) is repeated for "his people" ('et-kol-'amo) and "his land" ('et-'artzo), each construct chain marking totality ("all his people") and possession ("his land").
The final clause shifts to a sequential perfect, ve-'asita lo ("and you will do to him"), continuing the divine instruction begun with the negative command. The comparison ka'asher 'asita le-Sichon ("as you did to Sihon") uses the same root 'asah ("to do") in the perfect tense for the completed prior action, creating a grammatical parallel between past deed and future one. Sihon is identified by his title melekh ha-Emori ("king of the Amorite[s]") and located by the participle yoshev be-Cheshbon ("dwelling in Heshbon"), a participial clause marking ongoing/habitual residence rather than a single event.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders natati ("I have given," perfect) as paradedōka ("I have delivered," perfect), matching the Hebrew aspect. The Vulgate similarly uses tradidi ("I have handed over"). No significant divergence in tense or meaning appears among the Hebrew, LXX, and Vulgate for this verse; the versions align closely in structure and content.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.