Numbers 22:13-40

¹³And Bileam arose in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Go back to your country; for it is not pleasing before the Lord to permit me to go with you.

¹⁴And the princes of Moab arose and came to Balak, and said, Bileam refuseth to come with us.

¹⁵But Balak added to send princes more (in number) and nobler than those.

¹⁶And they came to Bileam, and said to him: Thus saith Balak bar Zippor: Be not, I beseech thee, hindered from coming to me;

¹⁷For I will greatly honour thee with honour, and will do all that thou shalt bid me. Come, then, curse me this people.

¹⁸Bileam responded, and said to the servants of Balak: If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I have no power to transgress the decree of the Word of the Lord my God, to do either little or great.

¹⁹But now I beg you tarry here this night, that I may know what yet the Lord will speak unto me.

²⁰And word came from before the Lord unto Bileam by night, and said to him: If the men come to call thee, arise and go with them; nevertheless the word that I speak with thee, that thou shalt do.

²¹And Bileam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.

²²But the displeasure of the Lord was provoked because he (so) went; and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to withstand him: and he was riding upon his ass, and his two young men with him.

²³And the ass discerned the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; and the ass started aside from the road, and went into the field. And Bileam struck the ass to make her to return into the road.

²⁴And the angel of the Lord (again) stood in the way of the vineyards in a place where there was a fence here and a fence there.

²⁵And the ass discerned the angel of the Lord, and thrust herself to the wall, and drave Bileam’s foot against the wall; and he smote her again.

²⁶And the angel of the Lord yet passed on, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left.

²⁷And the ass discerned the angel of the Lord, and fell down under Bileam; and Bileam’s wrath was provoked, and he smote the ass with his staff.

²⁸And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass; and she spake to Bileam, What have I done to thee that thou bast smitten me these three times?

²⁹And Bileam said to the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: would that there was a sword in my hand! For now would I kill thee.

³⁰And the ass said to Bileam, Am I not thy ass, upon whom thou hast ridden from (the time that) I have been thine unto this day? Have I ever been used to do thus to thee? And he said, No.

³¹And the Lord unveiled Bileam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword unsheathed in his hand: and he bowed, and worshipped upon his face.

³²And the angel of the Lord said to him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I have come out to withstand thee, because it is seen before me that thou art willing to go in a way contrary to me.

³³But the ass discerned me, and turned from before me these three times: unless she had turned from before me, now should I have slain thee, and her would I have spared.

³⁴And Bileam said to the angel of the Lord, I knew not that thou wast standing before me in the way. And now, if it be evil in thine eyes, I will return.

³⁵But the angel of the Lord said to Bileam, Go with the men; only the word that I shall speak with thee, that thou shalt say. And Bileam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶And Balak heard that Bileam was coming, and went forth to meet him, at a city of Moab which is upon the border of Arnon, on the side of the frontier.

³⁷And Balak said to Bileam, Did not I sending send for thee to call thee? Why didst thou not come to me? Hast thou not indeed said that I am not able to do thee honour?

³⁸And Bileam said to Balak, Behold, I have come to thee: but even now, have’ I really any power to speak anything? The word which the Lord putteth into my mouth I will speak.

³⁹And Bileam went with Balak, and they came to a city of his territory.

⁴⁰And Balak slaughtered oxen and sheep, and sent to Bileam and to the princes who were with him.