“Then we turned and set out toward the wilderness^a in the direction of the Red Sea,^b as Yahweh told me, and we went around Mount Seir for many days. ²Yahweh spoke to me, saying,^c ³‘Long enough you have been skirting this mountain; turn yourselves north, ⁴and instruct^d the people, saying,^e “You are about to cross through the territory of your brothers, the descendants^f of Esau, who are living in Seir; they will be afraid of you, and so be very careful. ⁵Do not get involved in battle^g with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot’s breadth^h of it; since I have given Mount Seir as a possession for Esau. ⁶You shall buy food from them so that you may eat; and also you shall purchase water from them with money so that you may drink. ⁷The fact of the matter is, Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work you have done;ⁱ he knows your travels^j with respect to this great wilderness; forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.” ’

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Footnotes

aOr “desert”
bLiterally “sea of reeds”
cLiterally “to say”
dOr “command”
eLiterally “to say”
fOr “sons”
gOr “provoke”
hLiterally “a sole’s foot of space”
iLiterally “the work of your hand”
jLiterally “your journeying”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.” ’

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea, as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

Then the Lord said to me, “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north. Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’ ”

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days. The Lord then said to me, ‘You’ve been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north. Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful. Don’t provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot of it, because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession. You may purchase food from them, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink. For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you these past forty years, and you have lacked nothing.’

NLTNew Living Translation

“Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, just as the Lord had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time.

“Then at last the Lord said to me, ‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north. Give these orders to the people: “You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful. Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land. If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it. For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.” ’

KJV 1900King James Version

Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days. And the Lord spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession. Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

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