Deuteronomy 2:4

4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren, the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you; take care unto yourselves, therefore;

Deuteronomy 2:4 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 2:4

And command thou the people
Give them a strict charge:

saying, ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children
or Esau:
not through the midst of their country, for that the king of Edom would not admit of, but by or on the border of it:

and they shall be afraid of you;
lest such a numerous body of people as Israel were should seize upon their country, and dispossess them of it, they having been so long, wanderers in a wilderness near them:

take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore;
that they did not take any advantage of their fears, and fall upon them, and do them mischief, or that they did not provoke them to battle and overcome them.

Deuteronomy 2:4 In-Context

2 until the LORD spoke unto me, saying,

3 Ye have gone around this mountain long enough; return unto the Aquilon.

4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren, the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you; take care unto yourselves, therefore;

5 do not seek a fight with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau for an inheritance.

6 Ye shall buy food from them for money that ye may eat, and ye shall also buy water from them for money that ye may drink.