Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΚαὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ, παρὰ τὸ ὄρος παρελευσόμεθα· ἐὰν δὲ τοῦ ὕδατός σου πίωμεν ἐγώ τε καὶ τὰ κτήνη μου, δώσω τιμήν σοι· ἀλλὰ τὸ πρᾶγμα οὐδέν ἐστι· παρὰ τὸ ὄρος παρελευσόμεθα. (Kai legousin autōi hoi huioi Israaʸl, para to oros pareleusometha; ean de tou hudatos sou piōmen egō te kai ta ktaʸnaʸ mou, dōsō timaʸn soi; alla to pragma ouden esti; para to oros pareleusometha. )
BrTrAnd 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.
ULTAnd the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go on the highway. And if we drink your water, me or my livestock, then we will give their value. Only, there is no matter, let me pass through with my feet.”
USTThe Israelite messengers replied, “If we travel through your country, we will stay on the main road. If we and any of our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We want only to travel through your country. We do not want anything else.”
BSB § “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.”
WEBBEThe 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.”
NETThen 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.”
LSVAnd 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].”
FBV“We'll keep to the main road,” the Israelites persisted. “If we or our livestock drink your water, we'll pay you for it. That's all we want—just to pass through on foot.”
T4TThe Israeli messengers replied, “If we travel through your country, we will stay on the main road. If we and any of our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We want only to travel through your country. We do not want anything else.”
LEBThe Israelites[fn] said to him, “We will go up on the main road, and if we[fn] and our livestock[fn] drink your water, we will pay for it.[fn] It is only a small matter; let us pass through on our feet.”[fn]
BBEAnd the children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway: and if we or our cattle take of your water, we will give you a price for it: only let us go through on our feet, nothing more.
JPSAnd 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.'
ASVAnd 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.
DRAAnd 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.
YLTAnd 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.'
DrbyAnd the children of Israel said to him, We will go by the high way; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it: I will only, without anything else, go through on my feet.
RVAnd 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.
WbstrAnd 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.
KJB-1769And 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. (And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the highway: and if I and my cattle drink of thy/your water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet. )
KJB-1611And the children of Israel said vnto him, We will goe by the high-way: and if I and my cattell drinke of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will onely (without doing any thing else) go thorow on my feet. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
BshpsThe children of Israel sayd vnto him, we wyll go by the beaten way: and if I and my cattell drynke of thy water, I wyll pay for it: I wyll but only (without any harme) go through on my feete. (The children of Israel said unto him, we will go by the beaten way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy/your water, I will pay for it: I will but only (without any harme) go through on my feet.)
GnvaThen the children of Israel said vnto him, We will goe vp by the hie way: and if I and my cattell drinke of thy water, I will then pay for it: I will onely (without any harme) goe through on my feete. (Then the children of Israel said unto him, We will go up by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy/your water, I will then pay for it: I will only (without any harme) go through on my feet. )
CvdlThe children of Israel saide vnto him: We wil go ye como hye waye, & yf we or oure catell drynke of thy water, we wil paye for it: we wil do nothinge, but passe thorow on fote onely. (The children of Israel said unto him: We will go ye/you_all como high way, and if we or our cattle drink of thy/your water, we will pay for it: we will do nothing, but pass through on foot only.)
WyclAnd the sones of Israel seiden, We schulen go bi the weie comynli vsid, and if we and oure beestis drynken thi watris, we schulen yyue that that is iust; noon hardnesse schal be in prijs, onely passe we swiftli. (And the sons of Israel said, We should go by the way commonli usid, and if we and our beasts/animals drinkn thy/your waters, we should give that that is just; noon hardness shall be in prijs, only pass we swiftli.)
LuthDie Kinder Israel sprachen zu ihm: Wir wollen auf der gebahnten Straße ziehen, und so wir deines Wassers trinken, wir und unser Vieh, so wollen wir‘s bezahlen; wir wollen nichts, denn nur zu Fuße hindurchziehen. (The children Israel said to him: We wollen on the/of_the gebahnten road ziehen, and so we/us yours waters drink, we/us and unser Vieh, so wollen wir‘s bezahlen; we/us wollen nothing, because nur to foote hindurchziehen.)
ClVgDixeruntque filii Israël: Per tritam gradiemur viam: et si biberimus aquas tuas, nos et pecora nostra, dabimus quod justum est: nulla erit in pretio difficultas, tantum velociter transeamus. (Dixeruntque children Israel: Per tritam gradiemur viam: and when/but_if biberimus waters tuas, we and pecora nostra, dabimus that justum it_is: nulla will_be in pretio difficultas, only velociter transeamus. )
20:14–21:35 Here the Israelites began their trek toward the Promised Land. Moving from Kadesh, they left the Sinai Peninsula behind and entered the area east of the Jordan (Transjordan), approaching the Promised Land from the east by a less direct point of entry (see 14:25; cp. Deut 2:2-6).
20:14-21 Israel tried unsuccessfully to establish peaceful relations with Edom, with which it had apparently had no dealings since Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) buried their father, Isaac (Gen 35:29; 36:6-8; cp. Gen 32:28). Moses’ appeal resembles the formal diplomatic correspondence of that era. While contacts with the Canaanites and other people groups were marked by hostility, communication with Edom was polite because of kinship ties (cp. Deut 2:4; 23:7). Those ties, however, were apparently not strong enough to overcome the ancient tension between Jacob and Esau (Gen 27:41).
(Some words not found in UHB: and=they_said to=him/it sons_of Yisrael in/on/at/with,main_road go_up and=if water,your drink I and,livestock,our and,pay price,it only not matter in/on/at/with,foot,us pass_through )
(Some words not found in UHB: and=they_said to=him/it sons_of Yisrael in/on/at/with,main_road go_up and=if water,your drink I and,livestock,our and,pay price,it only not matter in/on/at/with,foot,us pass_through )
This idiom means that they would simply travel through the area by walking. They would not come in chariots to attack the people of Edom.
After the Israelites received the law on Mount Sinai, which may have been located at Khashm et-Tarif (see also “The Route of the Exodus”), they traveled to Kadesh-barnea, a distance that took eleven days “by the way of Mount Seir” (Deuteronomy 1:2). The phrase “by the way of Mount Seir” suggests that more than one route existed between Mount Sinai and Kadesh, as shown here, but the road the Israelites took probably ran alongside the mountainous region of Seir. This route would have offered greater access to water from wells, natural springs, and seasonal streams flowing from the hills of Seir–a critical necessity for a large group traveling through this very arid region. Nearly every location identified on this map was essentially a small community centered around one of these life-enabling sources of water. After reaching Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, the Israelites prepared to enter Canaan by sending spies to scout out the land. But when ten of the twelve spies brought back news about the strength of the Canaanites, the people became afraid to enter the land, so the Lord punished them by condemning them to travel in the wilderness for forty years until that generation died off. Some Israelites repented and tried to enter the land, but they were beaten back to Hormah by the Amalekites and Canaanites. So for forty years the Israelites traveled from place to place, probably in the general area of Kadesh-barnea, though very few locations mentioned are able to be established with much certainty. As the forty years of traveling drew to a close, the Israelites prepared again to travel to Canaan by requesting permission from the king of Edom to pass through his land. When the king refused, the Israelites “turned away” from the Edomites and set out from Kadesh to travel to Mount Hor. The Jewish historian Josephus located Mount Hor at Jebel Nebi Harun, a very tall mountain in eastern Edom, but this has been rejected by many scholars in favor of other sites such as Jebel Madeira to the northeast of Kadesh. This author is convinced, however, that any candidate for Mount Hor must be sought to the south of Kadesh-barnea. Numbers 33:30 and Deuteronomy 10:6 mention that, during their wilderness travels, the Israelites camped at Moseroth/Moserah, which was apparently located at Mount Hor, since both Moseroth/Moserah and Mount Hor are cited as the place where Aaron died (Numbers 21:29-29; 33:37-39; Deuteronomy 10:6-9). It is difficult to envision the Israelites traveling back to the edge of Canaan after suffering defeat there the last time they attempted to enter the land. These same passages also note that after their stay at Moseroth/Moserah the Israelites traveled to Hor-haggidgad/Gudgodah (probably located along the Wadi Khadakhid) and then to Jotbathah, with no mention of passing through Kadesh, which they would have had to do if Mount Hor was north of Kadesh (since they were avoiding the land of Edom). Also, in Deuteronomy 2:1 Moses says that after the Israelites left Kadesh, “we journeyed back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me and skirted Mount Seir for many days,” and Aaron’s death on Mount Hor fits best during this time. Similarly, Numbers 21:4 says “from Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom,” but there would have been no way to the Red Sea around the land of Edom if Mount Hor were located northeast of Kadesh. One element of the wilderness narratives that appears to favor a northeast location for Mount Hor, however, is the story of the king of Arad, which the book of Numbers (chapters 21 and 33) places immediately after the death of Aaron on Mount Hor. At first glance, the narrative seems to imply that the king attacked the Israelites at Mount Hor, which fits better with a northern location. Yet, it is also possible that the story is simply noting that it was after the Israelites’ arrival at Mount Hor that the king of Arad first learned of the Israelites’ renewed intentions to enter Canaan, perhaps as a result of their request to pass through Edom. But it may have been later that the king of Arad actually engaged them in battle, perhaps as they were passing north of Zalmonah and appeared to be ready to enter Canaan by way of Arad (see Numbers 33:41-42 and the map “The Journey to Abel-shittim”). For these reasons, this author believes that Har Karkom is the best candidate for the location of Mount Hor. The site is appropriately located at the edge of Seir and along the way to the Red Sea. This site’s role as an ancient cultic center is also well established. Perhaps Aaron’s priestly duties and authority in Israel had grown out of a similar role he had previously held at Mount Hor (see also Numbers 12:1-2; Deuteronomy 33:2; Judges 5:4-5), where he was eventually buried.
Kadesh-Barnea and Its Surroundings
Though located in the arid desert region south of Israel, the town of Kadesh-barnea was relatively well supplied with water, making it one of the most important oases in the entire region. Multiple springs can be found within 6 miles (10 km) of Kadesh, including Ain Qedeis (possibly Hazar-addar), Ain el-Qudeirat (Kadesh-barnea), el-Qoseimeh (possibly Karka), and el-Muweilah (possibly Azmon), all of which drain into the Wadi al-Arish, likely the biblical Brook of Egypt, about 14 miles (23 km) to the west. Kadesh and its springs are sandwiched between the biblical locations of the Wilderness of Zin and the Wilderness of Paran, which explains why Kadesh is sometimes associated in Scripture with Zin (Numbers 20:1; 33:36; Deuteronomy 32:51) and other times with Paran (Numbers 13:26). The site is first mentioned in Scripture as one of the places through which Chedorlaomer’s army passed on its way to reconquer the cities of the plain (Genesis 14), and apparently at that time it was called Enmishpat, meaning “spring of judgment” (see “The Battle at the Valley of Siddim” map). Later Kadesh became a central location for the Israelites after they left Mount Sinai (and possibly before this as they traveled to Mount Sinai; see “The Route of the Exodus” map) and prepared to enter Canaan. From there they sent spies to scout out the land, but when the spies returned with an intimidating report about the inhabitants of Canaan, the people became afraid and longed to return to Egypt (Numbers 13-14; Deuteronomy 1:19-45). As punishment, the Lord condemned that generation to wander in the wilderness, apparently in the general area of Kadesh, until the people died off. Moses’ sister Miriam later died at Kadesh and was buried there (Numbers 20:1). Then, when the springs of Kadesh must have been producing little water, the people became angry with Moses again, so he struck a rock, causing water to flow from it (Numbers 20:2-13). After this, Moses called the place Meribah, meaning “quarreling” (Numbers 13; see also Numbers 20:24; 27:14; Deuteronomy 33:8; Psalm 81:7; 95:8; 106:32). It was also from Kadesh that Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom, asking permission to pass through his land as the Israelites made their way to Canaan. When the king of Edom refused, they turned back and traveled to Mount Hor instead (Numbers 20:14-22; Deuteronomy 1:46-2:1; Judges 11:16-17; see “The Journey to Abel-Shittim” map). After the Israelites entered Canaan, Kadesh marked the extreme southern boundary of Israel’s land (Numbers 33:4; Joshua 10:41; 15:3). Kadesh is never explicitly mentioned in Scripture after this except in reference to earlier events that happened there.
