Edom Denies Passage

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel^(A) says, ‘You know all the hardships that have overtaken us. ¹⁵ Our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt many years, but the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ When we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice, sent an angel,^[a](B) and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the border of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us travel through your land. We won’t travel through any field or vineyard, or drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway; we won’t turn to the right or the left until we have traveled through your territory.’”^(C)

¹⁸ But Edom answered him, “You must not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”

¹⁹ “We will go on the main road,” the Israelites replied to them, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay its price.^(D) There will be no problem; only let us travel through on foot.”

²⁰ Yet Edom insisted, “You must not travel through.” And they came out to confront them with a large force of heavily-armed people.^{[b] 21} Edom refused to allow Israel to travel through their territory, and Israel turned away from them.