Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink. Just let me pass through on my feet,
- KJV Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;
- BSB You can sell us food to eat and water to drink in exchange for silver. Only let us pass through on foot,
- NKJV You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot,
- NASB You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, only let me pass through on foot,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel offered to pay for food and water, asking only to pass through on foot. It shows their intent to take nothing unjustly.
Overview
Rather than plundering, Israel pledged to buy provisions, removing any pretext that they posed a threat to Sihon. This fair dealing parallels how Edom and Moab had been treated and reinforces that the later war came only because of Sihon's hostility. It models honest conduct even toward those outside the covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Num 20:19The 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.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 2:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.