Passage Through Edom Refused

^14 (A)Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of ^(B)Edom. ^(C)“Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

¹⁶ for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and ^(A)came to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Then ^(B)Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me pass through your land.” ^(C)But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the ^(D)king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel ^(E)remained in Kadesh.

⁷ “You shall not abhor an Edomite, ^(A)for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because ^(B)you were an alien in his land.

Israel Beloved of God

Edom Mistreated His Brother

⁹ So they said to him: ^(A)“From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God; for we have ^(B)heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt,

⁴ And command the people, saying, ^(A)“You are about to pass through the territory of ^(B)your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. ⁵ Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, ^(C)because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. ⁶ You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

⁷ “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your ^[a]trudging through this great wilderness. ^(D)These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’

⁸ “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from ^(E)Elath and Ezion Geber, we ^(F)turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab. ⁹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given ^(G)Ar to ^(H)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

^10 (I)(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as ^(J)the Anakim. ¹¹ They were also regarded as ^[b]giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim. ^12 (K)The Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their ^[c]place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lord gave them.)

¹³ “ ‘Now rise and cross over ^(L)the ^[d]Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered. ¹⁴ And the time we took to come ^(M)from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, ^(N)until all the generation of the men of war ^[e]was consumed from the midst of the camp, ^(O)just as the Lord had sworn to them. ¹⁵ For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they ^[f]were consumed.

¹⁶ “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, ¹⁷ that the Lord spoke to me, saying: ¹⁸ ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab. ¹⁹ And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to ^(P)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

²⁰ (That was also regarded as a land of ^[g]giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them ^(Q)Zamzummim, ^21 (R)a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, ²² just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, ^(S)who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed ^(T)the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day. ²³ And ^(U)the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza—^(V)the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)

²⁴ “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and ^(W)cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand ^(X)Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin ^[h]to possess it, and engage him in battle. ^25 (Y)This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations ^[i]under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall ^(Z)tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

The Kings of Edom

^31 (A)Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: ³² Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. ³⁴ When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. ³⁵ And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ And when Samlah died, Saul of ^(B)Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place. ³⁸ When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. ³⁹ And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, ^[a]Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was ^[b]Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother ^(A)in the land of Seir, ^(B)the ^[a]country of Edom. ⁴ And he commanded them, saying, ^(C)“Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.