Numbers 22:11-33

¹¹'Look, the people who have come from Egypt cover the surface of my land. Now come and curse them for me. Perhaps I will manage to fight them and drive them out.'”

¹²God replied to Balaam, “You must not go with those men. You must not curse the people of Israel because they have been blessed.”

¹³Balaam rose up in the morning and said to Balak's leaders, “Go back to your land because Yahweh refuses to allow me to go with you.”

¹⁴So the leaders of Moab left and went back to Balak. They said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵Balak sent again more leaders who were even more honored than the first group.

¹⁶They came to Balaam and said to him, “Balak son of Zippor says this, 'Please let nothing stop you from coming to me,

¹⁷because I will pay you extremely well and give you great honor, and I will do whatever you tell me to do. So please come and curse this people for me.'”

¹⁸Balaam answered and said to Balak's men, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Yahweh, my God, and do less or more than what he tells me.

¹⁹Now then, please wait here tonight too, so that I may learn anything further that Yahweh says to me.”

²⁰God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them. But only do what I tell you to do.”

²¹Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab.

²²But because he went, God's anger was kindled. The angel of Yahweh placed himself in the road as someone hostile to Balaam, who was riding on his donkey. Balaam's two servants were also with him.

²³The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with his drawn sword in his hand. The donkey turned off the road and went into a field. Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back to the road.

²⁴Then the angel of Yahweh stood in a narrow part of the road between some vineyards, with a wall on his right side and another wall on his left side.

²⁵The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh again. She went against the wall and pinned Balaam's foot against it. Balaam struck her again.

²⁶The angel of Yahweh went further and stood in another narrow place where there was no way to turn to either side.

²⁷The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and she lay down under Balaam. Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸Then Yahweh opened the donkey's mouth so she could talk. She said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that induced you to strike me these three times?”

²⁹Balaam replied to the donkey, “It was because you acted so stupidly with me. I wish there were a sword in my hand. If there were, by now I would have killed you.”

³⁰The donkey said to Balaam, “Am not I your donkey on which you have ridden all your life long to this present day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such things to you before?” Balaam said, “No.”

³¹Then Yahweh opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with his drawn sword in his hand. Balaam lowered his head and lay facedown.

³²The angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Look, I have come as someone hostile to you because your actions before me have been wicked.

³³The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would certainly have killed you and spared her life.”