Numbers 21:21 (DBY)

Passage

And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth;

Numbers 21:20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the fields of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks over the surface of the waste.

Numbers 21:21 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

Numbers 21:22 Let us pass through thy land; we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink water out of the wells; on the king's road will we go until we have passed thy border.

Numbers 21:23 But Sihon would not suffer Israel to go through his border; and Sihon gathered all his people, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "sent", "messengers", "sihon", "king", "amorites", and "saying". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "sent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "and from Bamoth to the valley that..." into verse 22's "Let us pass through thy land we...", so "israel" and "sent" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "israel" and "sent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.