The Israelites are neither to antagonize the Edomites nor ask for their help.

Purchase food … for money … buy water … for money: the equivalent of this statement in natural English is given by Good News Translation, where the common verb “buy” is used of the food and the water; most translations use two verbs, “to purchase” and “to buy,” but this is not necessary if a single verb will be good style. The use in English of for money is unnecessarily repetitive, but in some languages this repetition may be quite natural and should be retained.

It will be helpful for many translators to express this verse as follows:

• As you walk through their land, you may buy food and water.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .