Numbers 21–22

Arad Destroyed

21When the Canaanite king of Arad,^u who lived in the Negev,^v heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. ²Then Israel made this vow^w to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy^ax their cities.” ³The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites^y over to them. They completely destroyed them^z and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.^ba

The Bronze Snake

⁴They traveled from Mount Hor^b along the route to the Red Sea,^cc to go around Edom.^d But the people grew impatient on the way;^{e 5}they spoke against God^f and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt^g to die in the wilderness?^h There is no bread! There is no water!ⁱ And we detest this miserable food!”^j

⁶Then the Lord sent venomous snakes^k among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.^{l 7}The people came to Moses^m and said, “We sinnedⁿ when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord^o will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed^p for the people.

⁸The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;^q anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake^r and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.^s

The Journey to Moab

¹⁰The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.^{t 11}Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab^u toward the sunrise. ¹²From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.^{v 13}They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon^w, which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.^{x 14}That is why the Book of the Wars^y of the Lord says:

“… Zahab^d in Suphah and the ravines,

the Arnon ¹⁵and^e the slopes of the ravines

that lead to the settlement of Ar^z

and lie along the border of Moab.”

¹⁶From there they continued on to Beer,^a the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”

¹⁷Then Israel sang this song:^b

“Spring up, O well!

Sing about it,

¹⁸about the well that the princes dug,

that the nobles of the people sank—

the nobles with scepters and staffs.”

Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, ¹⁹from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah^c overlooks the wasteland.

Defeat of Sihon and Og

²¹Israel sent messengers^d to say to Sihon^e king of the Amorites:^f

²²“Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.^g”

²³But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory.^h He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz,ⁱ he fought with Israel.^{j 24}Israel, however, put him to the sword^k and took over his land^l from the Arnon to the Jabbok,^m but only as far as the Ammonites,ⁿ because their border was fortified. ²⁵Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites^o and occupied them,^p including Heshbon^q and all its surrounding settlements. ²⁶Heshbon was the city of Sihon^r king of the Amorites,^s who had fought against the former king of Moab^t and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.^u

²⁷That is why the poets say:

“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;

let Sihon’s city be restored.

²⁸“Fire went out from Heshbon,

a blaze from the city of Sihon.^v

It consumed^w Ar^x of Moab,

the citizens of Arnon’s heights.^y

²⁹Woe to you, Moab!^z

You are destroyed, people of Chemosh!^a

He has given up his sons as fugitives^b

and his daughters as captives^c

to Sihon king of the Amorites.

³⁰“But we have overthrown them;

Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.^d

We have demolished them as far as Nophah,

which extends to Medeba.^e”

³¹So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.^f

³²After Moses had sent spies^g to Jazer,^h the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. ³³Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashanⁱ,^j and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.^k

³⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.^l”

³⁵So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors.^m And they took possession of his land.ⁿ

Balak Summons Balaam

22Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab^o and camped along the Jordan^p across from Jericho.^q

²Now Balak son of Zippor^r saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, ³and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread^s because of the Israelites.

⁴The Moabites^t said to the elders of Midian,^u “This horde is going to lick up everything^v around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.^w”

So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, ⁵sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor,^x who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River,^y in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt;^z they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. ⁶Now come and put a curse^a on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land.^b For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

⁷The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination.^c When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

⁸“Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.^d” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

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

¹⁰Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ¹¹‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’ ”

¹²But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.^g”

¹³The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

¹⁴So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. ¹⁶They came to Balaam and said:

“This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, ¹⁷because I will reward you handsomely^h and do whatever you say. Come and put a curseⁱ on these people for me.”

¹⁸But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.^{j 19}Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.^k”

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

Balaam’s Donkey

²¹Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. ²²But God was very angryⁿ when he went, and the angel of the Lord^o stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword^p in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it^q to get it back on the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

²⁶Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry^r and beat it with his staff. ²⁸Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth,^s and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?^t”

²⁹Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.^u”

³⁰The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

³¹Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes,^v and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

³²The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.^{a 33}The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now,^w but I would have spared it.”

³⁴Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned.^x I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”

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

³⁶When Balak^y heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon^z border, at the edge of his territory. ³⁷Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

³⁸“Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”^a

³⁹Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. ⁴⁰Balak sacrificed…