Numbers 21–22

Arad Captured

21The Canaanite king of Arad, who was dwelling in the Negev,^a heard that Israel came along the way of Atharim; he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. ²Israel made a vow to Yahweh, and they said, “If you will surely give this people into our^b hand, then we^c will destroy^d their cities.” ³Yahweh heard the voice of Israel; he gave to them the Canaanites, and they destroyed them^e and their cities. They called the name of the place Hormah.

⁴They set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea^f to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient^g along the way. ⁵The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us from Egypt to die in the desert? There is no food and no water, and our hearts detest this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

⁶And Yahweh sent among the people poisonous snakes; they bit the people, and many people from Israel died. ⁷The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh and let him remove the snakes^h from among us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸And Yahweh said to Moses, “Make for yourself a snake and place it on a pole. Whenⁱ anyone is bitten and looks at it, that person will live.” ⁹So Moses made a snake of bronze, and he placed it on the pole; whenever^j a snake bit someone, and that person looked at the snake of bronze, he lived.

¹⁰The Israelites^k set out and encamped at Oboth. ¹¹They set out from Oboth and encamped at Iye Abarim in the desert, which was in front of Moab toward the sunrise.^{l 12}From there they set out and encamped at the valley of Zered. ¹³From there they set out and encamped beyond Arnon, which is in the desert that goes out from the boundary of the Amorites,^m because Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.^{n 14}Therefore thus it is said in the scroll of the Wars of Yahweh,

“Waheb in Suphah,

and the wadis of Arnon,

¹⁵and the slope of the wadis

that spreads out to the dwelling of Ar

and lies at the boundary of Moab.”

¹⁶From there they went to Beer, which is the water well where Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Gather the people, that I may give them water.” ¹⁷Then Israel sang this song, “Arise, well water! Sing to it! ¹⁸Well water that the princes dug, that the leaders of the people dug, with a staff and with their rods.” And from the desert they continued to Mattanah, ¹⁹and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; ²⁰and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the territory of Moab, by the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the surface of the wasteland.

Sihon and Og Defeated

²¹Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites,^o saying, ²²“Let us go through your land; we will not turn aside into a field or vineyard; we will not drink well water along the way of the king until we have gone through your territory.” ²³But Sihon did not allow Israel to go through his territory. Sihon gathered all his people and went out to meet Israel; he came to the desert, to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel. ²⁴But Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and they took possession of his land from Arnon to Jabbok, until the Ammonites,^p because the boundary of the Ammonites^q was strong. ²⁵Israel took all these cities, and Israel inhabited all the cities of the Amorites,^r in Heshbon, and in all its environs.^{s 26}Because Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites,^t who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land from his hand until Arnon. ²⁷Thus the ones who quote proverbs say,

“Come to Heshbon! Let it be built!

And let the city of Sihon be established.

²⁸Because fire went out from Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon;

it consumed Ar of Moab,

the lords of the^u high places of Arnon.

²⁹Woe to you, Moab!

You have perished, people of Chemosh.

He has given his sons as fugitives,

and his daughters into captivity,

to the king of the Amorites,^v Sihon.

³⁰We destroyed them;

Heshbon has perished up to Dibon;

we laid waste up to Nophah,

which reaches^w Medeba.”

³¹Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.^{x 32}Moses sent to explore Jaazer; they captured its environs^y and dispossessed the Amorites^z who were there.

³³Then they turned and went up by the way of the Bashan, and Og king of the Bashan and all his people went out to meet them for battle at Edrei. ³⁴And Yahweh said to Moses, “Do not fear him because I will give him and all his people and all his land into your hand. You will do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites,^a who was living in Heshbon.” ³⁵And so they destroyed him and his sons, and all his people until they had not spared a survivor; and they took possession of his land.

Balak and Balaam

22The Israelites^a set out, and they encamped on the desert-plateau of Moab, across from Jericho beyond the Jordan. ²Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel did to the Amorites,^{b 3}and Moab was very terrified in the presence of the people because they^c were numerous; and Moab dreaded the presence of the Israelites.^{d 4}And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now the crowd will lick up all around us, like a bull devours the grass of the field.” And Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. ⁵He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the river,^e in the land of the children of his people, to summon him, saying, “Look! A people went out from Egypt. Look! They cover the surface of the land;^f they are about to dwell opposite me. ⁶Now, please go, curse this people for me because they^g are stronger than me; perhaps I will be able to strike them^h and drive themⁱ out from the land because I know whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you cursed is cursed.”

⁷So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went with a fee for divination in their hand; they came to Balaam and spoke the words of Balak to him. ⁸He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will return, and I will return word to you, just as Yahweh speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰And Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent word to me, ¹¹‘Look! A people went out from Egypt. Look! They cover the surface of the land.^j Now, go, curse them^k for me. Perhaps I will be able to attack them^l and drive them^m out.” ¹²God said to Balaam, “You will not go with them; you will not curse the people, because theyⁿ are blessed.” ¹³Balaam got up in the morning, and he said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your land, because Yahweh refused to allow me to go with you.” ¹⁴The princes of Moab got up and went to Balak, and they said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵Balak again sent many princes, who were more honored than the former.^{o 16}They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor, ‘Please, let nothing keep you from coming to me ¹⁷because I will surely honor you greatly, and all that you say to me I will do. Please, come; curse this people for me.’ ” ¹⁸Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Even though Balak gives to me his house full of silver and gold, I am not able to go beyond the command of Yahweh^p my God to do a little or a lot. ¹⁹And now please, you also stay here^q the night, and let me find out^r again what Yahweh will say with me.” ²⁰And God came to Balaam at night, and he said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but only the word that I will speak to you, you will do.” ²¹So Balaam got up in the morning and saddled his donkey, and he went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam and the Angel

²²But God became angry^s because he was going, and the angel of Yahweh stood in the road as an adversary to him; he was riding on his donkey, and two servants were with him. ²³The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, and the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back to the road. ²⁴The angel of Yahweh stood in the narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on either side.^{t 25}When the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, she pressed herself into the wall, and she pressed the foot of Balaam into the wall, so he struck her again. ²⁶Then the angel of Yahweh went further ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was not a way to turn aside to the right or left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, she lay down under Balaam, so Balaam became angry,^u and he struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸Yahweh opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What did I do to you that you struck me these three times?” ²⁹Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you made a mockery of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” ³⁰The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life until this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” He said, “No.”

³¹Then Yahweh exposed the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, and he bowed down and worshiped to his face. ³²The angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why have you struck this donkey three times? Look, I have come out as an adversary because your conduct is perverse before me. ³³The donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from my face, then I would have killed you and kept her alive.” ³⁴Balaam said to the angel of Yahweh, “I have sinned because I did not know that you were standing to meet me in the road. Now, if it is displeasing to you,^v I will turn back.” ³⁵The angel of Yahweh said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I will speak to you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him by the city of Moab, which was on the boundary of Arnon at the end of the territory. ³⁷And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not…