Numbers 22

Balak Sends for Balaam

22Then ^athe children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

²Now ^bBalak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³And ^cMoab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. ⁴So Moab said to ^dthe elders of Midian, “Now this company will ¹lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵Then ^ehe sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at ^fPethor, which is near ²the River in the land of ³the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! ^6gTherefore please come at once, ^hcurse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of 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 the elders of Midian departed with ⁱthe diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸And he said to them, ^j“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.

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

¹⁰So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”

¹²And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for ^lthey are blessed.”

¹³So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

¹⁴And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more ⁴honorable than they. ¹⁶And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷for I will certainly ^mhonor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. ⁿTherefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”

¹⁸Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^o“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^pI could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. ¹⁹Now therefore, please, you also ^qstay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”

^20rAnd God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but ^sonly the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” ²¹So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

²²Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, ^tand the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³Now ^uthe donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. ²⁴Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. ²⁶Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸Then the Lord ^vopened 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 ⁵abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, ^wfor now I would kill you!”

^30xSo the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever ⁶disposed to do this to you?”

And he said, “No.”

³¹Then the Lord ^yopened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat 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 ⁷to stand against you, because your way is ^zperverse ⁸before Me. ³³The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

³⁴And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, ^a“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it ⁹displeases You, I will turn back.”

³⁵Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^bbut only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, ^che went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^dwhich is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. ³⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able ^eto honor you?”

³⁸And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? ^fThe word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” ³⁹So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. ⁴⁰Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

Balaam’s First Prophecy

⁴¹So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the ^ghigh places of Baal, that from there he might observe ¹the extent of the people.