Numbers 21:22 (DRB)

Passage

I beseech thee that I may have leave to pass through thy land: we will not go aside into the fields or the vineyards, we will not drink waters of the wells, we will go the king's highway, till we be past thy borders.

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:20 From Bamoth, is a valley in the country of Moab, to the top of Phasga, which looked towards the desert.

Numbers 21:21 And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, saying:

Numbers 21:22 I beseech thee that I may have leave to pass through thy land: we will not go aside into the fields or the vineyards, we will not drink waters of the wells, we will go the king's highway, till we be past thy borders.

Numbers 21:23 And he would not grant that Israel should pass by his borders: but rather gathering an army, went forth to meet them in the desert, and came to Jasa and fought against them.

Numbers 21:24 And he was slain by them with the edge of the sword, and they possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jeboc, and to the confines of the children of Ammon: for the borders of the Ammonites, were kept with a strong garrison.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beseech", "thee", "leave", "pass", "through", "land", "aside", and "fields". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beseech" and "thee", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king..." into verse 23's "And he would not grant that Israel...", so "beseech" and "thee" 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 "beseech" and "thee" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.