Numbers 21–22

Israel Destroys Arad

21The Canaanite king of the city of Arad lived in the Negev Desert. He heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim. So he attacked the people of Israel. He captured some of them.

²Then Israel made a promise to the Lord. They said, “Hand these people over to us. If you do, we will set their cities apart to you in a special way to be destroyed.”

³The Lord gave Israel what they asked for. He handed the Canaanites over to them. Israel completely destroyed them. They also destroyed their towns. So that place was named Hormah.

Moses Makes a Bronze Snake

⁴The people of Israel traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea. They wanted to go around Edom. But they grew tired on the way. ⁵So they spoke against God. They also spoke against Moses. They said to them, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? Do you want us to die here in the desert? We don’t have any bread! We don’t have any water! And we hate this awful food!”

⁶Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people of Israel. The snakes bit them. Many of the people died. ⁷The others came to Moses. They said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake. Put it up on a pole. Then anyone who is bitten can look at it and remain alive.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake. He put it up on a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake remained alive.

The People Continue On to Moab

¹⁰The people of Israel moved on. They camped at Oboth. ¹¹Then they started out from Oboth. They camped in Iye Abarim. It’s in the desert on the eastern border of Moab. ¹²From there they moved on. They camped in the Zered Valley. ¹³They started out from there and camped by the Arnon River. It’s in the desert that spreads out into the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the border of Moab. It’s between Moab and the Amorites.

¹⁴Here is what the Book of the Wars of the Lord says about it. It says,

“Sing about Waheb in Suphah and the valleys.

Sing about the Arnon ¹⁵and the slopes of the valleys.

They lead to the place called Ar.

They lie along the border of Moab.”

¹⁶From there the people of Israel continued on to Beer. That was the well where the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Gather the people together. I will give them water to drink.”

¹⁷Then Israel sang a song. They said,

“Spring up, you well!

Sing about it.

¹⁸Sing about the well the princes dug.

Sing about the well the nobles of the people dug.

All of their rulers were holding their rods and staffs.”

Then the people of Israel went from the desert to Mattanah. ¹⁹They went from Mattanah to Nahaliel. They went from Nahaliel to Bamoth. ²⁰And they went from Bamoth to a valley in Moab. It’s the valley where the highest slopes of Pisgah look out over a dry and empty land.

Israel Wins the Battle Over Sihon and Og

²¹The people of Israel sent messengers to speak to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. The messengers said to him,

²²“Let us pass through your country. We won’t go off the road into any field or vineyard. We won’t drink water from any well. We’ll travel along the king’s highway. We’ll just go straight through your territory.”

²³But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. He gathered his whole army together. Then he marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

²⁴But Israel put him to death with their swords. They took over his land. They took everything from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. But they didn’t take over any of the land of the Ammonites. That’s because the Ammonites had built strong forts along their border. ²⁵The people of Israel captured all of the cities of the Amorites. Then they settled down in them. They captured the city of Heshbon. They also captured all of the settlements that were around it.

²⁶Sihon, the king of the Amorites, ruled in Heshbon. He had fought against an earlier king of Moab. Sihon had taken from him all of his land all the way to the Arnon River.

²⁷That’s why the poets say,

“Come to Heshbon. Let it be built again.

Let Sihon’s city be made as good as new.

²⁸“Fire went out from Heshbon.

A blaze went out from the city of Sihon.

It burned up Ar in Moab.

It burned up the citizens who lived on Arnon’s hills.

²⁹Moab, how terrible it is for you!

People of Chemosh, you are destroyed!

Chemosh has deserted his sons and daughters.

His sons have run away from the battle.

His daughters have become prisoners.

He has handed all of them over to Sihon,

the king of the Amorites.

³⁰“But we have taken them over.

Heshbon is destroyed all the way to Dibon.

We have destroyed them as far as Nophah.

Nophah goes all the way to Medeba.”

³¹So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.

³²Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer. The people of Israel captured the settlements that were around it. They drove out the Amorites who were there. ³³Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. Og was the king of Bashan. He and his whole army marched out. They went to fight against Israel at Edrei.

³⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of Og. I have handed him over to you. I have given you his whole army. I have also given you his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon.”

³⁵So the people of Israel struck Og down. They struck his sons down. And they wiped out his whole army. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They took over his land for themselves.

Balak Sends For Balaam

22Then the people of Israel traveled to the flatlands of Moab. They camped along the Jordan River across from Jericho.

²Balak saw everything that Israel had done to the Amorites. Balak was the son of Zippor. ³The people of Moab were terrified because there were so many Israelites. In fact, Moab was filled with panic because of the people of Israel.

⁴The Moabites spoke to the elders of Midian. They said, “This huge mob is going to lick up everything around us. They’ll lick it up as an ox licks up all of the grass in the fields.”

Balak, the son of Zippor, was the king of Moab at that time. ⁵He sent messengers to get Balaam. Balaam was the son of Beor. Balaam was at the city of Pethor near the Euphrates River. Pethor was in the land where Balaam had been born. Balak told the messengers to say to Balaam,

“A nation has come out of Egypt. They are covering the face of the land. They’ve settled down next to me. ⁶So come and put a curse on those people. They are too powerful for me. Maybe I’ll be able to win the battle over them. Maybe I’ll be able to drive them out of the country. I know that those you bless will be blessed. And I know that those you put a curse on will be cursed.”

⁷The elders of Moab and Midian left. They took with them the money they knew Balaam would ask for. They wanted him to use magic and figure things out for them. They came to where Balaam was. And they told him what Balak had said.

⁸“Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them. “I’ll bring you back the answer the Lord gives me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with him.

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

¹⁰Balaam said to God, “Balak king of Moab, the son of Zippor, sent me a message. ¹¹He said, ‘A nation has come out of Egypt. They are covering the whole surface of the land. So come. Put a curse on them for me. Maybe I’ll be able to fight them. Maybe I’ll be able to drive them away.’ ”

¹²But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people. I have blessed them.”

¹³The next morning Balaam got up. He said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country. The Lord won’t let me go with you.”

¹⁴So the princes of Moab returned to Balak. They said, “Balaam wouldn’t come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak sent other princes. They were more important than the first ones. And there were more of them. ¹⁶They came to Balaam. They said,

“Balak, the son of Zippor, says, ‘Don’t let anything keep you from coming to me. ¹⁷I’ll make you very rich. I’ll do anything you say. Come. Put a curse on those people for me.’ ”

¹⁸But Balaam gave them his answer. He said, “Balak could give me his palace filled with silver and gold. Even then, I still couldn’t do anything at all that goes beyond what the Lord my God commands. ¹⁹Stay here tonight, just as the others did. I’ll find out what else the Lord will tell me.”

²⁰That night God came to Balaam. He said, “These men have come to get you. So go with them. But do only what I tell you to do.”

Balaam’s Donkey

²¹Balaam got up in the morning. He put a saddle on his donkey. Then he went with the princes of Moab.

²²But God was very angry when Balaam went. So the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey. His two servants were with him. ²³The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road. The angel was holding a sword. He was ready for battle. So the donkey left the road and went into a field. Balaam hit the donkey. He wanted to get it back on the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path. The path went between two vineyards. There were walls on both sides. ²⁵The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So it moved close to the wall. It crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. He hit the donkey again.

²⁶Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead. He stood in a narrow place. There was no room to turn, either right or left. ²⁷The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So it lay down under Balaam. That made him angry. He hit the donkey with his walking stick.

²⁸Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth. It said to Balaam, “What have I done to you? Why did you hit me those three times?”

²⁹Balaam answered the donkey. He said, “You have made me look foolish! I wish I had a sword in my hand. If I did, I’d kill you right now.”

³⁰The donkey said to Balaam, “I’m your own donkey. I’m the one you have always ridden. Haven’t you been riding me to this very day? Have I ever made…