Numbers 21:4 (GNV)

Passage

After, they departed from the mount Hor by the way of the red Sea, to compasse the land of Edom: and the people were sore grieued because of the way.

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:2 So Israel vowed a vowe vnto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt deliuer and giue this people into mine hand, then I wil vtterly destroy their cities.

Numbers 21:3 And the Lord heard the voyce of Israel, and deliuered them the Canaanites: and they vtterly destroied them and their cities, and called ye name of the place Hormah.

Numbers 21:4 After, they departed from the mount Hor by the way of the red Sea, to compasse the land of Edom: and the people were sore grieued because of the way.

Numbers 21:5 And the people spake against God and against Moses, saying, Wherefore haue ye brought vs out of Egypt, to die in the wildernesse? for here is neither bread nor water, and our soule lotheth this light bread.

Numbers 21:6 Wherefore the Lord sent fierie serpents among ye people, which stung the people: so that many of the people of Israel died.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "after", "departed", "mount", "compasse", "land", "edom", "people", and "sore". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "after" and "departed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And the Lord heard the voyce of..." into verse 5's "And the people spake against God and...", so "after" and "departed" 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 "after" and "departed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.