Numbers 20:14–21

Edom Refuses Passage

¹⁴From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to ^athe king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You ^bknow all the hardship that has befallen us,

¹⁵that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly.

¹⁶‘So ^awe cried out to Yahweh, and He heard our voice and sent ^ban angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.

¹⁷‘Please ^alet us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we pass through your territory.’”

^18aEdom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through ¹us, lest I come out to meet you with the sword.”

¹⁹Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and ^amy livestock do drink any of your water, ^bthen I will ¹pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, ²nothing else.”

²⁰But he said, “^aYou shall not pass through.” And Edom came out to meet him with a heavy ¹force and with a strong hand.

^21aThus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; ^bso Israel turned away from him.