Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
- BSB But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”
- NKJV Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”
- NASB Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through us, or I will come out with the sword against you.”
- NLT But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!”
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
Edom refused, threatening to come out with the sword if Israel passed through. The brother nation met Israel's appeal with hostility.
Overview
Despite the kinship and the gentle request, Edom answers with a threat of war. This hardness foreshadows the long enmity between Edom and Israel throughout Scripture. Israel's refusal to retaliate honors God's word and leaves the matter in His hands.
Cross-references & the web
No cross-references recorded for this verse.
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
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 20:18 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.