Numbers 21–22

21ST CHAPTER

The King of Arad Is Defeated

¹When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, he fought them and took some of them as prisoners. ²Then the Israelites made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we’ll destroy their cities because you’ve claimed them.” ³The Lord listened to the Israelites and handed the Canaanites over to them. They destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So they called the place Hormah ^[Claimed for Destruction^[. 

The Bronze Snake

⁴Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip ⁵and criticized God and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!” 

⁶So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. ⁷The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we criticized the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 

⁸The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. People looked at the bronze snake after they were bitten, and they lived.^a

Israel Travels Past Edom to Moab

¹⁰The Israelites moved and set up camp at Oboth. ¹¹Next they moved from Oboth and set up camp at Iye Abarim in the desert west of Moab. ¹²From there they moved and set up camp at the Zered River. ¹³They moved from there and set up camp on the other side of the Arnon Valley in the desert that extends into Amorite territory. (The Arnon Valley is the border between Moab and the Amorites.) ¹⁴This is how it’s described in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: 

“… Waheb in Suphah and the valleys, 

¹⁵Arnon and the slopes of the valleys 

that go down to the site of Ar 

and lie along the border of Moab.…” 

¹⁶From there they went to Beer ^[Well^[. This is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people, and I will give them water.” ¹⁷Then Israel sang this song about the well: 

“Make your water spring up! 

Sing to the well, 

¹⁸the well dug by princes, 

dug out by the nobles of the people 

with their scepters and staffs.” 

From the desert they went to Mattanah, ¹⁹and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where Mount Pisgah overlooks Jeshimon. 

Sihon and Og Defeated

²¹Then Israel sent messengers to say to King Sihon of the Amorites, ²²“Let us go through your country. We won’t go through any of your fields or vineyards or drink any of the water from your wells. We’ll stay on the king’s highway until we’ve passed through your territory.” 

²³Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his troops and came out into the desert to attack Israel. When Sihon’s troops came to Jahaz, they fought against Israel. ²⁴But Israel defeated them in battle and took possession of their land from the Arnon Valley to the Jabbok River. ⸤They stopped at⸥ the border of the Ammon because it was fortified. ²⁵Israel took all those Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its villages, and lived in them. ²⁶Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had fought the former king of Moab and had taken all his land up to the Arnon Valley. 

²⁷This is why the poets say: 

“Come to Heshbon! Rebuild it! 

Restore Sihon’s city! 

²⁸Fire came out of Heshbon, 

flames from Sihon’s city. 

They destroyed Ar of Moab, 

the rulers of Arnon’s worship sites.^b

²⁹How horrible it is for you, Moab! 

You are destroyed, you people of the god Chemosh. 

Chemosh let his sons become refugees 

and he let his daughters become prisoners 

of King Sihon of the Amorites. 

³⁰But we shot the Amorites full of arrows. 

From Heshbon to Dibon they all died. 

We destroyed everyone and everything 

between Nophah and Medeba.” 

³¹So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. ³²After Moses sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its cities and villages and forced out the Amorites who were there. ³³Then they turned and followed the road that goes to Bashan. King Og of Bashan and all his troops came out to fight the Israelites at Edrei. 

³⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I’ll hand him, all his troops, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.” ³⁵The Israelites defeated him, his sons, and all his troops, leaving no survivors. And they took possession of his land. 

22ND CHAPTER

Balaam Is Hired to Curse Israel

¹Then the Israelites moved and set up camp across from Jericho, on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River. 

²Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³The Moabites were very afraid because there were so many Israelites. Besides, the Moabites couldn’t stand these people. 

⁴So the Moabites said to the leaders of Midian, “All those people will eventually eat up everything around us the same way an ox eats up the grass in a field.” 

At that time Balak, son of Zippor, was king of Moab. ⁵He sent messengers to summon Balaam, son of Beor, who was at Pethor, on the Euphrates River, in the land where his people lived. Balak’s message was, “A nation has just come here from Egypt. They’ve spread out all over the countryside and are setting up their camp here in front of me. ⁶Please come and curse these people for me, because they are too strong for me. Maybe then I’ll be able to defeat them and force them out of the country. I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed.” 

⁷The leaders of Moab and Midian left, taking money with them to pay for Balaam’s services. They came to Balaam and told him what Balak had said. 

⁸“Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I’ll report to you what the Lord tells me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 

⁹God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?” 

¹⁰Balaam answered, “Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, sent them with this message: ¹¹‘Some people have just come from Egypt and are spreading out all over the countryside. Now come and curse them for me. Maybe I’ll be able to fight them and force them out.’ ” 

¹²But God said to Balaam, “Don’t go with them! Don’t curse these people, because they are blessed.” 

¹³When Balaam got up in the morning, he said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 

¹⁴So the Moabite princes went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.” 

¹⁵Balak sent a larger group of more highly respected princes. ¹⁶When they came to Balaam, they said to him, “This is what Balak, son of Zippor, says: Don’t let anything keep you from coming to me. ¹⁷I will make sure you are richly rewarded, and I will do whatever you ask. Please, come and curse these people for me.” 

¹⁸But Balaam answered Balak’s servants, “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I couldn’t disobey the command of the Lord my God no matter whether the request was important or not. ¹⁹Now, why don’t you stay here tonight, as the others did, and I’ll find out what else the Lord may have to tell me.” 

²⁰That night God came to Balaam and said, “If these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.” 

Balaam’s Journey to Moab

²¹When Balaam got up in the morning, he saddled his donkey and left with the Moabite princes. 

²²God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the Lord stood in the road to stop him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. ²³When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn, the donkey turned off the road into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to get it back on the road. 

²⁴Where the road went through the vineyards, it was narrow, with stone walls on both sides. Now the Messenger of the Lord stood there. ²⁵When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it moved over and pinned Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again. 

²⁶Then the Messenger of the Lord moved ahead and stood in a narrower place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam. Balaam became so angry he hit the donkey with his stick. ²⁸Then the Lord made the donkey speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done to make you hit me three times?” 

²⁹Balaam answered, “You’ve made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you right now.” 

³⁰The donkey said to Balaam, “I’m your own donkey. You’ve always ridden me. Have I ever done this to you before?” 

“No,” he answered. 

³¹Then the Lord let Balaam see the Messenger of the Lord who was standing in the road with his sword drawn. So Balaam knelt, bowing with his face touching the ground. 

³²The Messenger of the Lord asked him, “Why have you hit your donkey three times like this? I’ve come here to stop you because the trip you’re taking is evil.³³The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, I would certainly have killed you by now but spared the donkey.” 

³⁴Balaam said to the Messenger of the Lord, “I’ve sinned. I didn’t know you were standing there in the road to stop me. If you still think this trip is evil, I’ll go back.” 

³⁵The Messenger of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s princes. 

³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at Ir Moab, in the region of the Arnon Valley, right on the border of Moab. ³⁷Balak said to Balaam, “Why didn’t you come when I summoned you? You knew I’d be able to reward you.” 

³⁸Balaam replied, “Well, I’ve come to you now. But I can’t say whatever I want to. I can only say what God tells me to say.” 

³⁹Balaam went with…