Numbers 20:14-21 - Edom Denies Passage

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel, ‘You know all the hardship that has come upon us [as a nation]; ¹⁵ that our fathers (ancestors) went down to Egypt, and we lived there for a long time, and the Egyptians treated [both] us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ But when we cried out to the Lord [for help], He heard us and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through a field or through a vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning [off-course] to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’”

¹⁸ But [the king of] Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my territory, or I will come out against you with the sword.”

¹⁹ Again, the Israelites said to him, “We will go by the highway [trade route], and if I and my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it. Only let me pass through on foot, nothing else.”

²⁰ But the king of Edom said, “You shall not pass through [my territory].” And Edom came out against Israel with many people and a strong hand. ²¹ Thus [the king of] Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.