⁴ Command you the people, saying, You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves therefore;

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus says your brother Israel, You know all the travail that has happened to us:

¹⁵ how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and our fathers:

¹⁶ and when we cried to Yahweh, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of your border.

¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land: we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go along the king's highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.

¹⁸ Edom said to him, You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.

¹⁹ The children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price of it: let me only, without [doing] anything [else], pass through on my feet.

²⁰ He said, You shall not pass through. Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.

²¹ Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: why Israel turned away from him.

⁷ You shall not abhor an Edomite; for he is your brother: you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.

¹⁵ Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. Trembling takes hold of the mighty men of Moab. All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.

⁵ Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

¹⁵ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,

¹⁵ Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise;

¹⁵ He said to them, "Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses."

¹⁶ Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁰ For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.

¹¹ In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.

¹² But don't look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don't rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don't speak proudly in the day of distress.

¹³ Don't enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don't look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.

¹⁴ Now, behold, I go to my people: come, [and] I will advertise you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.

¹⁵ He took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor says, The man whose eye was closed says;

¹⁶ He says, who hears the words of God, Knows the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open:

¹⁷ I see him, but not now; I see him, but not near: There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, A scepter shall rise out of Israel, Shall strike through the corners of Moab, Break down all the sons of tumult.

¹⁸ Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession, [who were] his enemies; While Israel does valiantly.

³ Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

⁴ Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.