13:21a

all the cities of the plateau: The clause all the cities of the plateau summarizes the list of towns that appear in verses 17-21. This clause is almost identical to the clause in verse 13:17b and you should translate it the same way. In verse 17 this phrase was at the beginning of the list, and here it comes at the end of the list.

13:21b

and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites: The phrase the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites indicates that Moses gave the land that King Sihon ruled on the plateau to the tribe of Reuben.

13:21c

who reigned in Heshbon: The clause who reigned in Heshbon indicates that Heshbon was the capital city of King Sihon. Heshbon was mentioned in 13:10 and 13:17, and you should translate it the same way every time.

until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian: Moses defeated King Sihon along with all the other leaders of Midian. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. For example:

Moses had defeated him along with the Midianites including Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba (New Century Version)

chiefs of Midian: Midian was one of the sons of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2). Midian’s descendants became a group called Midian. They were a nomadic people who lived in northwest Arabia, east of the Gulf of Aqaba.

13:21d

(Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon: These five names are the leaders of the Midian people. The story of how Moses and the Israelites fought and killed these leaders is found in Numbers 31:7-8.

princes of Sihon: The phrase princes of Sihon indicates that these leaders of Midian were under the authority of King Sihon.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

all of them had ruled the land for King Sihon (Good News Translation)

who lived in the land: The clause who lived in the land indicates that these five Midianite leaders and their people lived in the land that King Sihon ruled.

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