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.”
Parallel Translations
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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.”
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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.
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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.'
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Numbers 20:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 2:28 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,
- Deuteronomy 2:6 You shall purchase food from them for money, that you may eat. You shall also buy water from them for money, that you may drink.’ ”
- Exodus 12:38 A mixed multitude went up also with them, with flocks, herds, and even very much livestock.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Children of Israel said unto him, i.e. their messengers…
Children of Israel said unto him, i.e. their messengers replied unto them what here follows.
I will pay for it; for water was a scarce commodity in those parts.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said, thou shall not go through,.... Which…
And he said, thou shall not go through,.... Which is an absolute and peremptory denial:
and Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand; the king raised the militia of his country, and came at the head of a powerful army to hinder their passing into it; being fearful and jealous, lest such a large body as they were should seize on his country, or spoil it, not relying on their promises; and this might arise also from the old grudge of Esau against Jacob, and which continued in his posterity, and might now be revived upon their going to Canaan to possess the earthly blessing conferred on Jacob and his seed: however, it seems, though the Edomites would not let Israel pass through their country, yet they furnished them with food and drink for their money, Deu 2:28.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Said - That is, their messengers replied what here…
Said - That is, their messengers replied what here follows.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Price. Hebrew, "I will only do one thing, walk…
Price. Hebrew, "I will only do one thing, walk through." Septuagint, "the matter is of no consequence, we go by the mountain." Louis de Dieu translates, "It is not indeed a word, (or idle pretence) I will pass through on foot."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain if I and my cattle drink of thy water,…
if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it--From the scarcity of water in the warm climates of the East, the practice of levying a tax for the use of the wells is universal; and the jealousy of the natives, in guarding the collected treasures of rain, is often so great that water cannot be procured for money.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. The high way — A causeway or raised…
19. The high way — A causeway or raised way, as the single term signifies in the Hebrew. It is the same as the king’s way in Num_20:17, and was probably a road used for military purposes. See Mat_3:3, note. The Seventy render it, “We will pass along the mountains.”
Water… pay for — Says Dr. Thomson: “Water is often difficult to be had either for love or money. A friend of mine informed me, that passing through a part of the country east of the Jordan in the autumn, he could barely secure water absolutely necessary for his animals; and the article was so precious that all washing, even of his own face, was dispensed with for several days.”
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Go through on my feet — The Vulgate, “Only let us go through swiftly.” They would make no encampment nor incur needless delay.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. without doing anything else] lit. ‘it is not…
19. without doing anything else] lit. ‘it is not a matter’; i.e. it is not a matter that can cause you any injury or annoyance; it is a mere nothing that we ask.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) I will only, without doing anything else .…
(19) I will only, without doing anything else . . . —Literally, Only—it is nothing—let me pass through on my feet.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the children of Israel said, i.e., probably, the…
And the children of Israel said, i.e., probably, the messengers sent by Moses. By the highway. hLsimB. The Septuagint translates para to orov , but no doubt the word means a "high road" in the original sense of a raised causeway. (cf. Isa_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;" (rbDAyae qr. Septuagint, alla to pragma ouden esti ) "I will go through on my feet." They meant, "We do not ask for anything of value, only leave to pass through."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.