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, 15 (D)how our fathers went down to Egypt, (E)and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, (F)and the Egyptians [a]afflicted us and our fathers. 16 (G)When we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and (H)sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 Please (I)let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ”

18 Then (J)Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

19 So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, (K)then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.

20 Then he said, (L)“You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom (M)refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel (N)turned away from him.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 20:15 did evil to

14 From Kadesh Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has found us; 15 our ancestors[a] went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time,[b] and the Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors.[c] 16 Then we cried to Yahweh, and he heard our voice; he sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt. And look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us go through your land. We will not go through a field or vineyard, and we will not drink water from a well. We will go along the road of the king; we will not turn aside right or left until we have gone through your territory.’”

18 Then Edom said to him, “You will not pass through us[d] lest we will go out[e] to meet you with the sword.” 19 The Israelites[f] said to him, “We will go up on the main road, and if we[g] and our livestock[h] drink your water, we will pay for it.[i] It is only a small matter; let us pass through on our feet.”[j] 20 But he said, “You will not go through.” And Edom went out to meet them[k] with a large army and a strong hand. 21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, and Israel turned aside from him.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 20:15 Or “fathers”
  2. Numbers 20:15 Literally “many days”
  3. Numbers 20:15 Or “fathers”
  4. Numbers 20:18 Hebrew “me”
  5. Numbers 20:18 Hebrew “I will go out”
  6. Numbers 20:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  7. Numbers 20:19 Hebrew “I”
  8. Numbers 20:19 Hebrew “my livestock”
  9. Numbers 20:19 Hebrew “I will give their worth”
  10. Numbers 20:19 Hebrew “I will go through on my feet”
  11. Numbers 20:20 Hebrew “him”