Numbers 21–22

Arad Destroyed

21When ^wthe Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in ^xthe Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. ^2yAnd Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”^{1 3}And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called ^zHormah.²

The Bronze Serpent

⁴From Mount Hor ^athey set out by the way to the Red Sea, ^bto go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. ⁵And the people ^cspoke against God and against Moses, ^d“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ^ewe loathe this worthless food.” ^6fThen the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and ^gthey bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ^7hAnd the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. ⁱPray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹So ^jMoses made a bronze³ serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

The Song of the Well

¹⁰And the people of Israel set out and ^kcamped in Oboth. ^11kAnd they set out from Oboth and ^kcamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. ¹²From there they set out and camped in ^lthe Valley of Zered. ¹³From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the ^mArnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,

¹⁵and the slope of the valleys

that extends to the seat of ⁿAr,

and leans to the border of Moab.”

¹⁶And from there they continued ^oto Beer;⁴ that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that ^pI may give them water.” ¹⁷Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—

¹⁸the well that the princes made,

that the nobles of the people dug,

with ^qthe scepter and with their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, ¹⁹and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah ^rthat looks down on the desert.⁵

King Sihon Defeated

²¹Then ^sIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ^22t“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ^23uBut Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and ^vcame to Jahaz and fought against Israel. ^24wAnd Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the ^xJabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. ²⁵And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. ²⁶For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. ²⁷Therefore the ^yballad singers say,

“Come to ^zHeshbon, let it be built;

let the city of Sihon be established.

²⁸For ^afire came out from ^zHeshbon,

flame from the city of Sihon.

It devoured ⁿAr of Moab,

and swallowed⁶ the heights of the Arnon.

^29aWoe to you, O Moab!

You are undone, O people of ^bChemosh!

He has made his sons fugitives,

and his daughters captives,

to an Amorite king, Sihon.

³⁰So we overthrew them;

Heshbon, as far as ^cDibon, perished;

and we laid waste as far as Nophah;

fire spread as far as ^dMedeba.”⁷

King Og Defeated

³¹Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. ³²And Moses sent to spy out ^eJazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. ³³Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle ^fat Edrei. ^34gBut the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And ^hyou shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” ³⁵So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.

Balak Summons Balaam

22Then ⁱthe people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. ²And ^jBalak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³And ^kMoab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. ⁴And Moab said to ^lthe elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, ^5msent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor ⁿat Pethor, which is near the River¹ in the land of the people of Amaw,² to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. ^6oCome now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷So the elders of Moab and ^lthe elders of Midian departed with ^pthe fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message. ⁸And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ^9qAnd God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ” ¹²God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for ^rthey are blessed.” ¹³So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. ¹⁶And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, ^17sfor I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. ^tCome, curse this people for me.’ ” ¹⁸But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^u“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^vI could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. ¹⁹So you, too, ^wplease stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” ^20qAnd God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; ^xbut only do what I tell you.” ²¹So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam’s Donkey and the Angel

²²But God’s anger was kindled because he went, ^yand the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way ^zas his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. ²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. ²⁵And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he struck her again. ²⁶Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸Then the Lord ^aopened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” ³⁰And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

³¹Then the Lord ^bopened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. ³²And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out ^cto oppose you because your way is perverse³ before me. ³³The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” ³⁴Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, ^d“I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” ³⁵And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^ebut speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the…