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.

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Cross references

nSee Ex 4:14
oSee Ge 16:7; Jdg 13:3, 6, 13
p Jos 5:13
qver 25, 27
r Nu 11:1; Jas 1:19
s 2 Pe 2:16
tver 32
uver 33; Dt 25:4; Pr 12:10; 27:23–27; Mt 15:19