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.

⁴ And command the people, saying, ^(A)“You are about to pass through the territory of ^(B)your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. ⁵ Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, ^(C)because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. ⁶ You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given ^(A)Ar to ^(B)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”