Numbers 20:14 From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, "This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

◄ Numbers 20:14 ►

New International Version
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: “This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come on us.

New Living Translation
While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message: “This is what your relatives, the people of Israel, say: You know all the hardships we have been through.

English Standard Version
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met:

Berean Standard Bible
From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

King James Bible
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:

New King James Version
Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

New American Standard Bible
From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom to say, “This is what your brother Israel has said: ‘You know all the hardship that has overtaken us;

NASB 1995
From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us;

NASB 1977
From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us;

Legacy Standard Bible
From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

Amplified Bible
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel, ‘You know all the hardship that has come upon us [as a nation];

Christian Standard Bible
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says, ‘You know all the hardships that have overtaken us.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says, ‘You know all the hardships that have overtaken us.

American Standard Version
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:

Contemporary English Version
Moses sent messengers from Israel's camp near Kadesh with this message for the king of Edom: We are Israelites, your own relatives, and we're sure you have heard the terrible things that have happened to us.

English Revised Version
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. He said, "This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardships we've had.

Good News Translation
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. They said, "This message is from your kinsmen, the tribes of Israel. You know the hardships we have suffered,

International Standard Version
Later, Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom with this message: "This is what your relative Israel says: 'You know all the hardships we've encountered.

Majority Standard Bible
From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

NET Bible
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "Thus says your brother Israel: 'You know all the hardships we have experienced,

New Heart English Bible
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: "Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the travail that has happened to us:

Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:

World English Bible
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: “Your brother Israel says: You know all the travail that has happened to us;

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And Moses sends messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “Thus said your brother Israel: You have known all the travail which has found us,

Young's Literal Translation
And Moses sendeth messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, 'Thus said thy brother Israel, Thou -- thou hast known all the travail which hath found us;

Smith's Literal Translation
And Moses will send messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus said thy brother Israel, Thou knewest all the distress which found us:

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
In the mean time Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, to say: Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the labour that hath come upon us:

Catholic Public Domain Version
Meanwhile, Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. They said: “Your brother Israel says this: You know of all the hardships which have overtaken us,

New American Bible
From Kadesh Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know of all the hardships that have befallen us,

New Revised Standard Version
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the adversity that has befallen us:

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And Moses sent messengers from Rakim to the king of Edom, saying, Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the trouble that has befallen us,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Moshe sent Messengers from Raqem to the King of Adum: “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the trouble that has come upon us.

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom: 'Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, saying, Thus says thy brother Israel; Thou knowest all the distress that has come upon us.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Edom Refuses Passage
14From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers,…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Deuteronomy 2:4-8
and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful. / Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession. / You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’” ...

Judges 11:16-18
But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. / Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. / Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.

Obadiah 1:10-14
Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. / On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. / But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. ...

Malachi 1:2-3
“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, / but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Genesis 25:30
He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

Genesis 36:1
This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).

Genesis 36:8
So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.

Exodus 15:15
Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,

Deuteronomy 23:7
Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.

1 Samuel 14:47
After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them.

1 Kings 11:14-16
Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. / Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom. / Joab and all Israel had stayed there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom.

2 Chronicles 20:10-11
And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them. / See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession that You gave us as an inheritance.

Psalm 137:7
Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”

Isaiah 34:5-6
When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. / The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

Ezekiel 25:12-14
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt, / therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. / I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’

Treasury of Scripture

And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus said your brother Israel, You know all the travail that has befallen us:

Moses

Judges 11:16,17
But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; …

thy brother

Genesis 32:3,4
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom…

Deuteronomy 2:4
And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

Deuteronomy 23:7
Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.

befallen us.

Exodus 18:8
And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.

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Numbers 20

1. The children of Israel come to Zin, where Miriam dies.
2. They murmur for want of water
7. Moses smiting the rock, brings forth water at Meribah
14. Moses at Kadesh desires passage through Edom, which is denied him
22. At Mount Hor Aaron resigns his place to Eleazar, and dies

Berean Study Bible

From Kadesh
Kadesh was a significant location for the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings. It was a place of both trial and divine encounter. The Hebrew root for Kadesh means "holy" or "sacred," indicating its importance as a site of divine presence and judgment. Historically, Kadesh is associated with the wilderness of Zin, a region that served as a base for the Israelites. This setting underscores the gravity of the message Moses is about to send, as it is from a place of both spiritual significance and past rebellion.

Moses sent messengers
Moses, as the leader and prophet of Israel, often acted as the intermediary between God and the people, as well as between Israel and other nations. The act of sending messengers reflects a diplomatic approach, seeking peaceful passage rather than confrontation. This action is consistent with Moses' character as a humble servant of God, who seeks to fulfill God's promises through obedience and faithfulness. The use of messengers also highlights the importance of communication and negotiation in resolving potential conflicts.

to tell the king of Edom
Edom, descended from Esau, Jacob's brother, had a complex relationship with Israel. The Edomites were considered kin, yet their interactions were often marked by tension and hostility. The king of Edom represents the leadership of a nation that, while related by blood, often stood in opposition to Israel. This historical context sets the stage for the request Moses is about to make, emphasizing the familial ties that should ideally lead to cooperation and mutual respect.

This is what your brother Israel says
The phrase "your brother Israel" is a poignant reminder of the shared ancestry between Israel and Edom. By invoking the brotherhood, Moses appeals to a sense of kinship and shared history. This appeal is rooted in the covenantal promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which included both nations. The use of "brother" is a strategic and heartfelt attempt to foster goodwill and remind Edom of their common heritage and the divine promises that bind them.

You know all the hardship that has befallen us
This statement acknowledges the well-known struggles of the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt to their trials in the wilderness. The Hebrew word for "hardship" conveys a sense of affliction and distress, capturing the essence of Israel's journey. By stating that Edom is aware of these hardships, Moses appeals to their empathy and understanding. This acknowledgment serves as a prelude to the request for passage, highlighting the Israelites' reliance on God's guidance and the hope for compassion from their kin.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(14) And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh . . . --The date of the occurrence related in this and the following verses is not stated. It might be inferred frem Judges 11:16-17 that the message to the Kings of Edom and Moab was sent soon after the exodus, and that it was in consequence of their refusal that the sojourn in Kadesh was prolonged: "And (or, So) Israel abode in Kadesh" (Judges 11:17). The account, however, is too summary to admit of any certain inference in regard to time. No difficulty is involved in the fact that Edom is represented in Genesis 36 as being governed by dukes, or chiefs (alluphim), whilst in this place we read of a king. It is possible that the form of government may have been changed, or, as in the case of the rulers of Midian, the same persons who in one place are described as kings may, in another place, be described as dukes, duces, or leaders. Comp. Numbers 31:8, where the five rulers of Midian are described as kings, with Joshua 13:21, where the same persons are described as princes or chiefs.

Thus saith thy brother Israel.--The Edomites, as the descendants of Esau, who received the name of Edom (Genesis 25:30), were closely connected with the descendants of Jacob. . . .

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 14. - And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom. On the kings of Edom see on Genesis 36:31. It would seem probable from Exodus 15:15 that the government was at that time (forty years before the present date) still in the hands of "dukes," and that the change had but recently taken place. It is stated in Judges 11:17 that Moses sent messengers at this time with a like request to the king of Moab. We are not indeed obliged to suppose that Jephthah, living 300 years after, stated the facts correctly; but there is no particular reason to doubt it in this case. That no mention of it is made here would be sufficiently explained by the fact that the refusal of Edom made the answer of Moab of no practical moment. That Moses asked a passage through the territory of Edom implies that he had renounced the idea of invading Canaan from the south. This was not on account of any insuperable difficulties presented by the character of the country or of its inhabitants, for such did not exist; nor on account of any supposed presence of Egyptian troops in the south of Palestine: but simply on account of the fact that Israel had deliberately refused to take the straight road into their land, and were therefore condemned to follow a long and circuitous route ere they reached it on an altogether different side. The dangers and difficulties of the road they actually traversed were, humanly speaking, far greater than any they would have encountered in any other direction; but this was part of their necessary discipline. Thy brother Israel. This phrase recalled the history of Esau and Jacob, and of the brotherly kindness which the former had shown to the latter at a time when he had him in his power (Genesis 33). Thou knowest all the travel that hath befallen us. Moses assumed that Edom would take a fraternal interest in the fortunes of Israel. The parallel was singularly close between the position of Jacob when he met with Esau, and the present position of Israel; we may well suppose that Moses intended to make this felt without directly asserting it.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

From Kadesh
מִקָּדֵ֖שׁ (miq·qā·ḏêš)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6946: Kadesh -- 'sacred', a place in the desert

Moses
מֹשֶׁ֧ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

sent
וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח (way·yiš·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

messengers
מַלְאָכִ֛ים (mal·’ā·ḵîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4397: A messenger, of God, an angel

to [tell]
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the king
מֶ֣לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Edom,
אֱד֑וֹם (’ĕ·ḏō·wm)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 123: The name of a condiment

“This is what
כֹּ֤ה (kōh)
Adverb
Strong's 3541: Like this, thus, here, now

your brother
אָחִ֣יךָ (’ā·ḥî·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )

Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

says:
אָמַר֙ (’ā·mar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

You
אַתָּ֣ה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

know
יָדַ֔עְתָּ (yā·ḏa‘·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the hardship
הַתְּלָאָ֖ה (hat·tə·lā·’āh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8513: Weariness, hardship

that
אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

has befallen us,
מְצָאָֽתְנוּ׃ (mə·ṣā·’ā·ṯə·nū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular | first person common plural
Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present

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OT Law: Numbers 20:14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to (Nu Num.)