“Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.”
Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke to me; and we went around the hill country of Seir many days -- the reversal at Kadesh redirects Israel toward the Sinai peninsula and then the long way around Edom. The 'many days' condenses the thirty-eight-year wilderness wandering into a summary. The route bypasses the direct path to Canaan; obedience now means accepting the longer journey.