¹⁵ how in the midst of famine, our ancestors journeyed down into Egypt; and how after settling there a long while, the Egyptians began to treat our ancestors and then us harshly. ¹⁶ The Eternal heard and answered our pitiful cry, actually sent a messenger and led us out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, right at the border of your country. ¹⁷ Would you please grant us permission to cross through? I promise that we won’t take anything from your seeded farmland or cultivated countryside. Nor will we drink from your wells. We will stick to the main road, the king’s highway, and not step off it either to the right or left until we’re well past your country’s limits.