And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

And when we had passed by our brethren the children of Esau, that dwelt in Seir, by the way of the plain from Elath and from Asiongaber, we came to the way that leadeth to the desert of Moab.

And we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by the plain, by Elath, and by Ezion-geber, and we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

'And we pass by from our brethren, sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir, by the way of the plain, by Elath, and by Ezion-Gaber; and we turn, and pass over the way of the wilderness of Moab;

And when we passed by from our brothers the children of Esau, which dwelled in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

So we went on past our brothers, the children of Esau, living in Seir, by the road through the Arabah, from Elath and Ezion-geber. And turning, we went by the road through the waste land of Moab.

And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab.

Et transivimus a fratribus nostris filiis Esau, qui habitabant in Seir, per viam solitudinis ab Elath et ab Esion-gaber: conversi autem transivimus ad viam deserti Moab.

Elath (Akaba) is at the northern extremity of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, and gives to that arm the name of the Elanitic Gulf. The name means "trees;" and is still justified by the grove of palm-trees at Akaba.

And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Self,.... Along their coasts, by the borders of their country:
through the way of the plain; the wilderness of Zin, where Kadesh was:
from Elath and Eziongeber; the two ports on the shore of the Red sea in the land of Edom; it was from the latter they came to Kadesh; see Numbers 33:35. Elath was ten miles from Petra, the metropolis of Edom, to the east of it, as Jerom says (z); it is by Josephus (a) called Aelana, and by the Septuagint here Ailon; from whence the Elanitic bay has its name; he speaks of it as not far from Eziongeber, which he says was then called Berenice:
we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab; the wilderness which is before Moab, towards the sun rising or the east, Numbers 21:11.
(z) De loc. Hebrews. fol. 91. E. (a) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 4.

We have the origin of the Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites. Moses also gives an instance older than any of these; the Caphtorims drove the Avims out of their country. These revolutions show what uncertain things wordly possessions are. It was so of old, and ever will be so. Families decline, and from them estates are transferred to families that increase; so little continuance is there in these things. This is recorded to encourage the children of Israel. If the providence of God has done this for Moabites and Ammonites, much more would his promise do it for Israel, his peculiar people. Cautions are given not to meddle with Moabites and Ammonites. Even wicked men must not be wronged. God gives and preserves outward blessings to wicked men; these are not the best things, he has better in store for his own children.

we passed . . . through the way of the plain--the Arabah or great valley, from Elath ("trees") (the Ailah of the Greeks and Romans). The site of it is marked by extensive mounds of rubbish.
Ezion-geber--now Akaba, both were within the territory of Edom; and after making a circuit of its southeastern boundary, the Israelites reached the border of Moab on the southeast of the Salt Sea. They had been forbidden by divine command to molest the Moabites in any way; and this special honor was conferred on that people not on their own account, for they were very wicked, but in virtue of their descent from Lot. (See on Deuteronomy 23:3). Their territory comprised the fine country on the south, and partly on the north of the Arnon. They had won it by their arms from the original inhabitants, the Emims, a race, terrible, as their name imports, for physical power and stature (Genesis 14:5), in like manner as the Edomites had obtained their settlement by the overthrow of the original occupiers of Seir, the Horims (Genesis 14:6), who were troglodytes, or dwellers in caves. Moses alluded to these circumstances to encourage his countrymen to believe that God would much more enable them to expel the wicked and accursed Canaanites. At that time, however, the Moabites, having lost the greater part of their possessions through the usurpations of Sihon, were reduced to the small but fertile region between the Zered and the Arnon.

We turned - From our direct road which lay through Edom.