Bible Strands
Numbers 20:18
But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Edom addresses the Israelite messengers at the border, rejecting their request to traverse the territory after hearing their assurances in Numbers 20:17.
The words — לֹא תַעֲבֹר (lo' ta'avor) = you will not pass, and בַּחֶרֶב אֵצֵא (ba'cherev etze') = with the sword I will come out.
The thread — The verse records a direct territorial denial that precedes the Israelites’ repeated offer to pay for water in Numbers 20:19. It establishes a pattern of hostile border policy that later appears in prophetic judgments against Edom.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of a hard political boundary that halts a religious migration. It requires the reader to note how diplomatic guarantees fail against a sovereign state’s military threat.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.