Numbers 21:21 (GNV)

Passage

Then Israel sent messengers vnto 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 in the valley, that is in the plaine of Moab, to the top of Pisgah that looketh toward Ieshimon.

Numbers 21:21 Then Israel sent messengers vnto Sihon, King of the Amorites, saying,

Numbers 21:22 Let me goe through thy land: we wil not turne aside into the fieldes, nor into the vineyardes, neither drinke of the waters of ye welles: we will goe by the kings way, vntill we be past thy countrey.

Numbers 21:23 But Sihon gaue Israel no licence to passe through his countrey, but Sihon assembled all his people, and went out against Israel into the wildernesse: and he came to Iahoz, and fought against Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "sent", "messengers", "vnto", "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 in the valley that..." into verse 22's "Let me goe 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.