Numbers 21:21 (YLT)

Passage

And Israel sendeth messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorite, 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 which <FI>is<Fi> in the field of Moab <FI>to<Fi> the top of Pisgah, which hath looked on the front of the wilderness.

Numbers 21:21 And Israel sendeth messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorite, saying,

Numbers 21:22 `Let me pass through thy land, we do not turn aside into a field, or into a vineyard, we do not drink waters of a well; in the king's way we go, till that we pass over thy border.'

Numbers 21:23 And Sihon hath not suffered Israel to pass through his border, and Sihon gathereth all his people, and cometh out to meet Israel into the wilderness, and cometh in to Jahaz, and fighteth against Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "sendeth", "messengers", "sihon", "king", "amorite", and "saying". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "sendeth", 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 which..." into verse 22's "Let me pass through thy land we...", so "israel" and "sendeth" 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 "sendeth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.