וַיִּסְעוּ֙ מֵהַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה דֶּ֖רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וַאֲר֨וֹן בְּרִית־יְהוָ֜ה נֹסֵ֣עַ לִפְנֵיהֶ֗ם דֶּ֚רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֔ים לָת֥וּר לָהֶ֖ם מְנוּחָֽה׃
At naglakbay sila mula sa bundok ng Walang-Hanggan nang tatlong araw na paglalakbay; at ang kaban ng tipan ng Walang-Hanggan ay nauuna sa kanila nang tatlong araw na paglalakbay upang humanap para sa kanila ng mapagpapahingahan.
Rashi
דרך שלשת ימים [AND THEY DEPARTED FROM THE MOUNT OF THE LORD] THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY — A distance of three days’ journey they miraculously travelled in one day, because the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to bring them straight away into the Land (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 82).
Kli Yakar
And they traveled from the mountain of the Lord, a journey of three days. Our Sages interpreted (Shabbat 116b, Tosafot s.v. “Punishment”), that on that day they turned away from following the Lord and fled from the mountain of the Lord like a child fleeing from school. Therefore, they fled out of fear lest He add more commandments for them. And the verse says: See how ungrateful they are, because even during this rebellion, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord traveled before them a journey of three days to seek out a resting place for them. They rebelled for a count of three days, and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was benefiting them for a count of three days.
Another explanation: According to what is written in the Hidden Scroll, “If you forsake Me for a day, I will forsake you two days” (Sifrei, Eikev 11:22). This is comparable to two people walking away from each other — one walks a mile eastward and the other westward, resulting in them being two miles apart from each other. Similarly, the verse is saying that they traveled away from following the Lord and turned back a journey of three days from the Divine Presence, and correspondingly, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord also traveled before them, distancing itself from them a journey of three days. Thus, there ended up being a distance of six days’ journey between them, in order to seek out for them a rest from the commandments which they had rejected.
Another explanation: According to what is written in the Hidden Scroll, “If you forsake Me for a day, I will forsake you two days” (Sifrei, Eikev 11:22). This is comparable to two people walking away from each other — one walks a mile eastward and the other westward, resulting in them being two miles apart from each other. Similarly, the verse is saying that they traveled away from following the Lord and turned back a journey of three days from the Divine Presence, and correspondingly, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord also traveled before them, distancing itself from them a journey of three days. Thus, there ended up being a distance of six days’ journey between them, in order to seek out for them a rest from the commandments which they had rejected.
Ramban
AND THEY SET FORWARD FROM THE MOUNT OF THE ETERNAL THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY. According to the plain meaning of Scripture, the cloud [of the Eternal] journeyed and went before them for three days and the ark followed the cloud in front of the people, and it did not come to rest in that place until the night of the third day, when the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran,140See Ramban further, 12:16 for explanation of this area. which was a good place for them to camp in. This is the sense of [the expression] to seek out a resting-place for them.141Verse 33. And when the cloud rested they erected the Tabernacle and brought the ark into it. Scripture, however, did not explain whether they also journeyed at night.