Edom Denies Israel Passage

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom to say, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has come upon us. ¹⁵ Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt for a long time. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors. ¹⁶ When we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. So look, here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through any field or vineyard. We will not drink water from any well. We will go on the King’s Highway. We will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

¹⁸ Edom said to him, “You must not pass through our territory, or we will go out to meet you with the sword.”

¹⁹ The Israelites said to them, “We will go up on the main road. If we drink your water, we and our herds of livestock, then we will pay for it. Just let us pass through on foot, nothing else.”

²⁰ Edom said, “You will not pass through.” Edom went out to meet them with a large force of many people. ²¹ Edom refused to give Israel passage through their territory, so Israel turned away from them.