Numbers 20:14–21

Passage Through Edom Refused

^14sNow Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of ^tEdom. ^u“Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, ^15vhow our fathers went down to Egypt, ^wand we dwelt in Egypt a long time, ^xand the Egyptians ³afflicted us and our fathers. ^16yWhen we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and ^zsent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. ¹⁷Please ^alet 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.’ ”

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

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

²⁰Then he said, ^d“You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. ²¹Thus Edom ^erefused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel ^fturned away from him.