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Numbers 20:18

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18 But Edom answered: “You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”
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Numbers 20:18 in Other Translations

KJV
18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
ESV
18 But Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you."
NLT
18 But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!”
MSG
18 The king of Edom answered, "Not on your life. If you so much as set a foot on my land, I'll kill you."
CSB
18 But Edom answered him, "You must not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you 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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Numbers 20:18 In-Context

16 but when we cried out to the LORD, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. “Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.
17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”
18 But Edom answered: “You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”
19 The Israelites replied: “We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”
20 Again they answered: “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army.

Cross References 2

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