les and tombs are carved out of the
solid rock
[End illustration]

{253}

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the
people; and many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses,
and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord,
and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents
from us."

And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Make
thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to
pass, that everyone who is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live."

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and
it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked
unto the serpent of brass, he lived.

_Battles by the Way_.

And from thence they journeyed to Beer: that is the well whereof the
Lord said unto Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give
them water."

Then sang Israel this song:--

THE SONG OF THE WELL.

"Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
The well, which the princes digged,
Which the nobles of the people delved,
With the scepter, and with their staves."

And from the wilderness they journeyed past many places, to the top of
Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert.

And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the {254} Amorites,
saying, "Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn aside into
field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells:
we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed thy border."
And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but
Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel
into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz: and he fought against Israel.
And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his
land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the
border of the children of Ammon was strong.

And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities
of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof. For Heshbon
was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against
the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even
to Arnon. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,--

"Come ye to Heshbon,
Let the city of Sihon be built and established:
For a fire is gone out of Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon.
It hath devoured Ar of Moab,
The lords of