Numbers 20:18

18 But Edom said to him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.

Numbers 20:18 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 20:18

And Edom said unto him
The king of Edom replied to Israel, represented by the messengers sent in their name:

thou shall not pass by me;
through my country:

lest I come out against thee with the sword;
or with those that use the sword, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; that is, with an army of soldiers with their drawn swords in their hands, to slay them as enemies.

Numbers 20:18 In-Context

16 and when we cried to Jehovah, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt; and behold, we are at Kadesh, a city at the extremity of thy border.

17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country; we will not pass through fields, or through vineyards, neither will we drink water out of the wells: we will go by the king's road; we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy border.

18 But Edom said to him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.

19 And the children of Israel said to him, We will go by the high way; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it: I will only, without anything else, go through on my feet.

20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.