Numbers 20:19
And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.
This verse is Israel's second appeal to the king of Edom for permission to pass through his land. They promised to keep to the highway and go through on foot, to do nothing else in the land, and to pay for any water drunk by the people and their cattle. The request was peaceful, limited, and considerate, seeking only direct passage without harm to people or possessions, and not a threat or an attempt to take the land. The offer was refused, so Israel could not pass through Edom peacefully.
Unbelief kept the people from making this passage through Edom as God had intended, so they had to cross the desert again and drink from the miraculous spring. The same kind of courteous request for only direct passage was made to the Amorites, who had received no injury to themselves or their possessions. The Amorite king's refusal and preparation for battle marked his people's rejection of the evidence God had given them.