Numbers 20:19 "We will stay on the main road," the Israelites replied, "and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot."

◄ Numbers 20:19 ►

New International Version
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.”

New Living Translation
The Israelites answered, “We will stay on the main road. If our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through your country. That’s all we ask.”

English Standard Version
And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

Berean Standard Bible
“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”

King James Bible
And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.

New King James Version
So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

New American Standard Bible
Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the road, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing more.”

NASB 1995
Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing else.”

NASB 1977
Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We shall go up by the highway, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing else.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and my livestock do drink any of your water, then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing else.”

Amplified Bible
Again, the Israelites said to him, “We will go by the highway [trade route], and if I and my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it. Only let me pass through on foot, nothing else.”

Christian Standard Bible
“We will go on the main road,” the Israelites replied to them, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay its price. There will be no problem; only let us travel through on foot.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
We will go on the main road,” the Israelites replied to them, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay its price. There will be no problem; only let us travel through on foot.”

American Standard Version
And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof: let me only, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.

Contemporary English Version
Moses sent back this message: "We promise to stay on the main road, and if any of us or our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. We just want to pass through."

English Revised Version
And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go up by the highway: and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof: let me only, without doing any thing else, pass through on my feet.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Israelites replied, "We'll stay on the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we'll pay for it. We want to pass through on foot. That's all."

Good News Translation
The people of Israel said, "We will stay on the main road, and if we or our animals drink any of your water, we will pay for it--all we want is to pass through."

International Standard Version
Then the Israelis replied, "Permit us to travel on the highway. If we and our cattle drink your water, we'll pay the price you ask. Only please let us walk through, and nothing more."

Majority Standard Bible
“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”

NET Bible
Then the Israelites said to him, "We will go along the highway, and if we or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else."

New Heart English Bible
The children of Israel said to him, "We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then will I give its price: let me only, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet."

Webster's Bible Translation
And the children of Israel said to him, We will go by the highway: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.

World English Bible
The children of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway; and if we drink your water, I and my livestock, then I will give its price. Only let me, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And the sons of Israel say to him, “We go in the highway, and if we drink of your waters—I and my livestock—then I have given their price; only, let me pass over on my feet, nothing [more].”

Young's Literal Translation
And the sons of Israel say unto him, 'In the highway we go, and if of thy waters we drink -- I and my cattle -- then I have given their price; only (it is nothing) on my feet I pass over.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And the sons of Israel will say to him, By the highway will we come up; and if we shall drink of thy waters, I and my cattle, I gave a price: only not speaking, I will pass through on my feet.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the children of Israel said: We will go by the beaten way: and if we and our cattle drink of thy waters, we will give thee what is just: there shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us pass speedily.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And the sons of Israel said: “We will travel by the well-trodden path. And if we or our cattle drink from your waters, we will give you what is just. There shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us cross through quickly.”

New American Bible
The Israelites said to him, “We will go up along the highway. If we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. It is nothing—just let us pass through on foot.”

New Revised Standard Version
The Israelites said to him, “We will stay on the highway; and if we drink of your water, we and our livestock, then we will pay for it. It is only a small matter; just let us pass through on foot.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And the children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway; and if we and our cattle drink of your water, then we will pay for it; we will only pass through it on foot.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the children of Israel said to him: “We will go up by the road, and if we will drink from your waters, we and our animals, we will give their price, only on our feet let us pass.”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the children of Israel said unto him: 'We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof; let me only pass through on my feet; there is no hurt.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the children of Israel say to him, We will pass by the mountain; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, I will pay thee: but it is no matter of importance, we will go by the mountain.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Edom Refuses Passage
…18But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.” 19“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.” 20But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Deuteronomy 2:27-29
“Let us pass through your land; we will stay on the main road. We will not turn to the right or to the left. / You can sell us food to eat and water to drink in exchange for silver. Only let us pass through on foot, / just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving us.”

Judges 11:17-18
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.

Exodus 12:31-32
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. / Take your flocks and herds as well, just as you have said, and depart! And bless me also.”

2 Kings 3:7
And he sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” “I will go,” replied Jehoshaphat. “I am as you are, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”

Isaiah 16:1-2
Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion. / Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:

Genesis 32:3-5
Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. / He instructed them, “You are to say to my master Esau, ‘Your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now. / I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, menservants, and maidservants. I have sent this message to inform my master, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

1 Samuel 25:18-19
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys / and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

2 Samuel 16:1-2
When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. / “Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

1 Kings 9:11-12
King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire. / So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.

2 Chronicles 2:8-10
Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber there. And indeed, my servants will work with yours / to prepare for me timber in abundance, because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful. / I will pay your servants, the woodcutters, 20,000 cors of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of olive oil.”

Matthew 10:14
And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

Luke 9:5
If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

Acts 13:51
So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

Acts 18:6
But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Romans 12:18
If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

Treasury of Scripture

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

Deuteronomy 2:6,28
Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink…

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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

We will stay on the main road
The phrase "main road" refers to the King's Highway, an ancient trade route that was crucial for commerce and travel in the region. This road connected the lands from Egypt to Mesopotamia, passing through Edom. The Israelites' request to stay on this road indicates their intention to respect the established paths and not deviate into the private lands of Edom. Historically, this reflects a common practice of seeking permission to travel through foreign territories, emphasizing diplomacy and respect for national boundaries.

if we or our livestock drink your water
Water was a precious resource in the arid regions of the Near East. The Israelites' offer to pay for any water consumed by them or their livestock underscores their willingness to compensate for any resources used, highlighting a principle of fairness and respect for the property of others. This reflects a broader biblical ethic of justice and integrity in dealings with others, as seen in various laws and teachings throughout the Scriptures.

we will pay for it
The commitment to pay for any water consumed demonstrates a principle of restitution and responsibility. In the Hebrew context, this aligns with the Torah's teachings on making amends for any loss or damage caused to another's property (Exodus 22:1-15). This offer of payment is a gesture of goodwill and an attempt to maintain peaceful relations with Edom, despite the historical tensions between the two nations.

We only ask to pass through on foot
The request to pass through "on foot" indicates the Israelites' desire for a peaceful and non-intrusive passage. By specifying "on foot," they emphasize their intention not to engage in any military or aggressive actions. This phrase reflects a humble and peaceful approach, seeking merely the right of passage without any ulterior motives. It is a reminder of the importance of humility and peace in interactions with others, a theme that resonates throughout the Bible.

nothing more
The phrase "nothing more" serves to reassure the Edomites of the Israelites' intentions. It emphasizes their request is limited to passage alone, without any additional demands or expectations. This reflects a principle of contentment and simplicity, avoiding greed or unnecessary imposition on others. In a broader biblical context, it aligns with teachings on being content with what is necessary and not coveting more than what is rightfully ours (Philippians 4:11-12).

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) I will only, without doing anything else . . . --Literally, Only--it is nothing--let me pass through on my feet.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - And the children of Israel said, i.e., probably, the messengers sent by Moses. By the highway. בַּמְסִלָּה. The Septuagint translates παρὰ τὸ ὄρος, but no doubt the word means a "high road" in the original sense of a raised causeway (cf. Isaiah 57:14). Such a road is still called Derb es Sultan - Emperor-road. I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet. Rather, "It is nothing;" (רַק אֵין־דָּבָר. Septuagint, ἀλλὰ τὸ πρᾶγμα οὐδέν ἐστι) "I will go through on my feet." They meant, "We do not ask for anything of value, only leave to pass through."

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

“We will stay
נַעֲלֶה֒ (na·‘ă·leh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

on the main road,”
בַּֽמְסִלָּ֣ה (bam·sil·lāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4546: A thoroughfare, a viaduct, a staircase

the Israelites
בְּנֵֽי־ (bə·nê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

replied,
וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“and if
וְאִם־ (wə·’im-)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

we
אֲנִ֣י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

or our herds
וּמִקְנַ֔י (ū·miq·nay)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 4735: Something bought, property, livestock, acquisition

drink
נִשְׁתֶּה֙ (niš·teh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

your water,
מֵימֶ֤יךָ (mê·me·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

we will pay
וְנָתַתִּ֖י (wə·nā·ṯat·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

for it.
מִכְרָ֑ם (miḵ·rām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4377: Merchandise, value

There will be no
אֵין־ (’ên-)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

problem;
דָּבָ֖ר (dā·ḇār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

only
רַ֥ק (raq)
Adverb
Strong's 7535: But, even, except, howbeit howsoever, at the least, nevertheless

let us pass through
אֶֽעֱבֹֽרָה׃ (’e·‘ĕ·ḇō·rāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

on foot.”
בְּרַגְלַ֥י (bə·raḡ·lay)
Preposition-b | Noun - fdc | first person common singular
Strong's 7272: A foot, a step, the pudenda

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OT Law: Numbers 20:19 The children of Israel said to him (Nu Num.)